Poison
by Mondhase
Summary: Hydra is back on the attack with a deadly poison, forcing Hunter to face someone from his past to help SHIELD save lives. But there will be a price to pay for that. Based on my one-shot "Secret Keeper", which I'd recommend you read first.
1. Bad Influence

**A/N: Takes place after 2x06 'A Fractured House' and the events of my one-shot 'Secret Keeper'. I wrote 'based on' instead of 'sequel to' in the summary, because while this fanfic is of course both, it will also be a completely different kind of story. This will be multi-chapter with the focus on Hunter and Bobbi, but the whole team will be included.**

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><p><strong>Poison<strong>

**Chapter 1: Bad Influence**

Lance Hunter was sitting on the ramp of SHIELD's single Quinjet that was parked in the hangar, a tablet in his hand, but instead of working with it, he was using its black reflective surface to get a better look at the large bruise on his cheek, where one of the Hydra agents they had encountered earlier on a mission had landed a particularly painful punch, almost sending him to the floor in the process.

To his luck, Agent May had had his back in time to prevent anything worse from happening, but both his face and his ego would have to live with the damage for a while, the extent of which he was just trying to determine.

"You should really let Jemma take a look at that," a familiar female voice suddenly startled him and Hunter quickly looked up from his own reflection, only to find Bobbi holding a bottle of beer in his face, which he accepted after a brief moment of hesitation.

He immediately took a sip, but then held the cold bottle carefully against the throbbing side of his face, sighing as the pain subsided at least a little.

"Thanks, that's a real life saver," he admitted, ignoring her suggestion to have the injury checked, but then he looked up at his ex rather sceptically, unsure about how to interpret her friendly behaviour. "But you didn't have to do that," he finished with what he hoped to be a grateful expression.

Bobbi had been standing in front of him so far, but now she sat down next to Hunter on the ramp, taking a big gulp from her own bottle, obviously somewhat uncertain about being here as well. But then she just shrugged it off as she glanced over at the mercenary, doing her best to make this conversation appear as casual as possible.

"I know. I just figured that since we just had a pretty rough mission, you especially, it might be a good idea to check up on you. That's what 'mutually respectful co-workers' do, right?", she asked, deliberately using the awkward term Hunter had used for their current relationship during the lengthy conversation they had had in the gym a couple of days ago.

It still felt odd for them to have an actual talk that lasted for more than five words without either of them shouting or at least staring daggers at the other, but the mercenary was definitely glad that things seemed to have calmed down between him and Bobbi after he had opened up to her, at least for the moment. Because if there was one thing in his life that he was absolutely sure of, it was that there were simply too many sparks between him and his ex to be good for either of them and that they were always headed for either spectacular fireworks or a devastating explosion, he just didn't know which one it would be this time.

But for now Hunter was actually beginning to enjoy the friendly tone between them and so he replied with a mischievous glint in his eyes, even though his features remained completely sober.

"As a matter of fact, 'handing out beer' is actually the very first point on that job description," he explained with a smirk. "Directly above 'saving each other's lives' and 'telling the other if they have something between their teeth'." The mercenary tried to grin at his own joke, but flinched briefly as the pain in his cheek became worse from the movement, although he wasn't sure if Bobbi had noticed it or not.

"Alright, I guess I can handle those terms," she agreed with a smile in return, but then turned fully towards Hunter and grabbed his jaw with a gentle, but firm hold, keeping him still so she could get a better look at the bruise, "but I think I'd also like to add 'telling your co-worker if they look like shit and should really go and see a doctor about that' to that list, because that looks seriously painful, Hunter."

But even though he knew that Bobbi was simply concerned about him, which a part of him actually appreciated, Hunter pushed her hand away again quickly, a little more harshly than he had originally intended to. And as he replied to her, there was already a trace of the old bitterness between them in his voice, making him sound cold and detached, which was about as far away from the truth as possible.

"I'm fine, thanks, but don't you think that that line probably falls more under the 'friends' category? And I'm not convinced we're really there yet."

He could tell by the expression flickering over Bobbi's features for a brief second, that he had somehow managed to hurt her without even really meaning to, but that look was gone again in an instant, leaving only an unfazed mask in its place, as the agent was far too good at hiding her true emotions, to let herself be deterred by her ex's rude behaviour.

"Okay, fair enough, I mean you told me the other day that you don't think we can be friends, but there's actually something else I wanted to ask you about, I just hope I'm not overstepping my 'co-worker' boundaries here."

Hunter took another sip from his beer to hide the fact that he was rolling his eyes, but in the end he knew that if he didn't want things between him and Bobbi to go right back to how they had started a few weeks ago, he would have to let her bother him at least a little more.

"Fine, go ahead, what do you want to know?", he ask, already anticipating that this wasn't going to be an easy conversation.

"When you told me that your parents were SHIELD agents in the past, you said I should ask Coulson if I didn't believe you-", Bobbi began, but didn't even get to finish her sentence before Hunter interrupted her.

"And what did he say?", the mercenary wanted to know, immediately convinced that she had gone to the director not long after he had told her about his parents' history. But Bobbi shook her head, her expression completely sincere.

"Nothing, because I haven't talked to him about any of this. But I was wondering why _you_ never did. You know Coulson's been with SHIELD for a long time, he must have heard about your parents, or maybe he even knew them. You told me you stopped looking into their past because of us, and I appreciate that that can't have been easy, but now you're working with SHIELD yourself, so I don't understand why you haven't tried to find out more about them."

Hunter remained completely quiet for an almost uncomfortably long moment, while he took another sip from his beer and studied Bobbi carefully, as if he was trying to determine whether she really didn't know the answer to that question or if she just wanted to hear him admit it. But in the end he decided to humour her either way and replied slowly.

"You do realise why I ended up with SHIELD now, right? Why Coulson's in charge, why we're all working from this one hidden base and why this," he pointed at the plane behind them, "is the only jet at our disposal."

Bobbi looked at him in confusion, her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out what Hunter was getting at.

"Well, things aren't the way they used to be, obviously. Coulson took over when Fury vanished and we had to make do with what we had after…" she trailed off, understanding finally dawning on her face. "_Hydra_. Hunter, you can't actually believe that your parents were working for Hydra, can you?"

"Honestly, I have no bloody idea. And I really don't want to know, either. They left SHIELD long before all hell broke loose, but after everything I've heard and seen about those weeks, after knowing just how many apparently loyal agents turned traitor, I have zero interest in looking into my parents' history with SHIELD any longer. I don't want to see their files and I don't want to know about their missions, that's all in the past and that's right where it can stay as far as I'm concerned."

Bobbi looked at him almost incredulously, obviously unable to understand his reasoning.

"But they're your family, don't you want to know the truth? Coulson's right here and I'm sure he would give you everything he has on them, or you could talk to your father and ask him directly. I mean, your parents were with SHIELD, you married a SHIELD agent, and now you're practically one yourself, so I just don't understand how that can possibly mean so little to you."

Hunter sighed in frustration and grimaced slightly as he did his best not to start shouting as he answered his ex.

"Bobbi, I know that in your own unreasonable way you're just trying to help, but seriously, this is none of your business. When I told you about what it was like to grow up with SHIELD agents as parents, I was hoping that that would explain a few things about me, not that it would make you go around, starting to ask more questions. And since when have you become this pesky anyway? Usually I'm the one who can't live with secrets and you're the one who's trying to keep them, not the other way around."

"I guess that has to be somebody's bad influence on me then," the agent replied with a crooked grin, actually managing to catch Hunter off guard, but before he had the chance to reply anything, a female voice suddenly cut him short.

"Guys, sorry to interrupt," Skye called out from the door to the stairs, her expression grim, "but you better come and see this. There has been another Hydra attack, and it's _bad_."

Bobbi and Hunter exchanged a brief concerned glance, before setting their bottles down and following Skye up into the command centre of the base, a dark sense of foreboding already settling over them at the thought of what Hydra could have in store for them this time.

**To be continued…**


	2. Thirty-Six

**A/N: Damn, the team has become really big by now, so it's not that easy to actually include all of them. And I almost forgot Trip, but then again, the writers seem to have, too, so I guess that's not that surprising. ;)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Thirty-Six<strong>

As Hunter, Bobbi and Skye sat down at the large table in the main area of the base, almost the complete team had already gathered, except from Coulson and May, who came down from the former's office a few seconds later, their expressions as concerned as Skye's had been earlier.

SHIELD's newest director took a brief look at each of the agents in front of him, his eyes focusing on Hunter just the tiniest bit longer than on the others, but before anyone could notice, he cut to the chase, explaining why he had called the meeting.

"As you all know, we here at SHIELD aren't the only ones who've been trying to take HYDRA down for a while now. The US government and military have made repeated efforts to catch up with them, especially after the attack on the Navy anti-HYDRA unit a few weeks ago, and HYDRA's attempt to frame SHIELD for the assault on the UN, but last night, a large-scale, international plan to land a considerable strike against them ended in a complete disaster."

He picked up a tablet from the table in front of him and tapped a few buttons until a world map appeared on the monitor behind him with four red dots standing out immediately.

"These are the locations of HYDRA bases and safe houses that were recently discovered by Talbots people in the US, Britain and Australia, and in a joined operation, military units in all three countries attempted to take them down simultaneously, but what started out as a very promising plan ended in a catastrophe with thirty-six deaths, because they all walked right into a trap."

Even in a room filled mostly with trained and experienced agents, the effects of these news were unmistakable as they exchanged surprised or even horrified glances with each other, obviously shocked by the amount of carnage HYDRA had caused yet again.

Given their recent insight into the inner workings of the organisation, Jemma and Bobbi were probably the least surprised about the sheer number of fatalities, while Fitz, who was sitting between the two women, shrunk back into his seat unconsciously, trying not to let himself be overwhelmed by the ruthlessness of the people they were up against.

But it was Hunter, who spoke first, his voice completely professional, not giving away anything of what was going on inside of him at the moment.

"The British assault team, they were SAS, weren't they?", he asked, already knowing that no other part of the British military would have been as qualified to go up against HYDRA as the Special Air Service, his old unit.

"Yes, they were," Coulson confirmed with a sad expression, knowing from experience how hard it was to lose comrades, and that even though Hunter had most likely never actually met the soldiers that had been killed, just the fact that they had been in the same corps meant that he had to feel a connection to them.

"How were they killed?", the mercenary now wanted to know, still not showing any signs of emotional involvement in any of this. "Explosives?"

"No," the director shook his head, heaving a heavy sigh as he used the tablet in his hand once more, causing a video to start playing on the screen behind him, that was showing a group of soldiers making their way through a tunnel, obviously fully alert and ready to take down any resistance that might get in their way.

"This time HYDRA used poison gas, and they made absolutely sure that the effects of the attack were caught on tape and discovered." He stepped to the side to give everyone a good view of the screen as the military unit continued to go further into the apparently empty HYDRA base, their footsteps the only sound on the video, until a faint hissing noise could suddenly be heard, obviously catching the soldiers completely off guard and causing the entire unit to collapse to the ground within seconds.

All of them were clearly in excruciating pain, trembling in shock and agony, their throats too constricted to scream or make a lot of sound at all, until their movements finally turned into full blown seizures, causing Fitz to grip the armrests of his chair tightly and avert his eyes as he couldn't handle the disturbing images any longer. He took a few deep breaths, but only calmed down again slightly as he felt a gentle hand on his forearm and saw Jemma looking at him reassuringly as he glanced up at her.

The rest of the team kept watching the video, and although they were clearly affected by what they were seeing, they managed to control their reactions better than the young engineer. Coulson let the footage run for another ten seconds, before he stopped it, the agonized expressions of the soldiers frozen on the screen.

"The seizures lasted about four more minutes before the soldiers died, which was, going by the preliminary autopsy report, caused by acute heart failure. The devices containing the gas had been hidden under the grates in the floor and were triggered once the assault team was in the right place. The exact same thing went down almost simultaneously at the other three HYDRA outposts, with each of them having been abandoned well in advance and a surveillance system with the footage of the poison attack the only thing that was left behind once the rescue teams arrived."

Coulson turned the screen off completely now, a determined expression replacing the sad look on his face as he addressed his team again.

"In light of the scale of the attack and now that SHIELD is out of the public crosshairs, at least for the moment, General Talbot has reached out to us, asking for help with the investigation. In return he will give us access not only to all the materials his men have gathered on this operation, but on HYDRA in general, hopefully giving us an edge in any future encounters. Not that it would have mattered, of course," he pointed out with a small shrug, "because HYDRA just killed thirty-six people and I'm not willing to let them get away with that."

The director fell silent for a moment to let his words sink in, his eyes wandering once more to the now completely black screen behind him, as he could still see the images that had been playing on it moments ago all too clearly, giving the team the opportunity to process what they had just heard, the knowledge of what they were up against weighing heavily on them, even though they all had different ways of handling the pressure.

"Yeah, and neither are we," Hunter pointed out, his expression just as determined as Coulson's. "I might not be with the regiment anymore, but that doesn't mean I'll just let HYDRA kill a whole unit of them without consequences."

Bobbi, who was sitting directly opposite from him, looked at her ex understandingly, before she looked up at Coulson again, shaking her head slightly.

"Whatever that gas is they used in their trap, I've never seen anything like it while I was pretending to work for HYDRA."

"Me neither," Simmons added, as she had been more involved with the actual research during her undercover stint. "But wherever they developed it, it must have been recent, or I think they would have used it before."

This got Coulson's attention again, and he looked straight at the scientist for a moment, before he seemed to make up his mind about something and continued.

"Actually, I have seen similar symptoms before, caused by a rare poison during a SHIELD operation years ago, but the effects were not nearly as intense as what we've just seen. Simmons, I want you to start analysing the samples Talbot sent us immediately. May will give you access to the old case files so you can verify whether there really is a connection."

"Of course, sir, I'll get right on it," the biochemist replied immediately, before heading to the lab, Fitz in tow, because even though he knew that he would be of absolutely no help to her, and their relationship wasn't exactly easy at the moment, either, it was still the most natural behaviour for him to go wherever she went, no matter what that might entail.

When the two scientists had went on their way, Coulson turned to Skye, handing her a small flash drive.

"This contains all the information Talbot's men had gathered about the HYDRA bases. I want you to go over all of their leads and find out who set them up, who's been pulling the strings in the background on this one. Was it Dr. Whitehall again, or are we dealing with someone else this time?"

The agent nodded quickly as she took the drive, eager to test her skills against HYDRA.

"Got it. I'll find out who's behind this," she promised as she headed towards one of the empty offices of the base that she had unofficially claimed for herself to work in silence.

Mack, who knew that his mechanical skills weren't exactly of much use right now, sauntered off to the hangar to make sure both the Quinjet and the Bus were ready to go once they had made out a target to pursue, leaving only Hunter, Bobbi, Trip, Coulson and May in the room.

"Sir, what can we do?", the blond agent asked, wanting to assist in any way she could to make sure that whoever was responsible for this massacre was held responsible. But the director exchanged a quick glance with May and then shook his head slightly.

"For now, nothing. Just be ready to move out as soon as we have more information." He then handed the tablet in his hand to his second in command, telling her to give it to Simmons as it contained the files she would need for her research, but once Trip had left and Bobbi and her ex-husband were about to follow his example, Coulson suddenly addressed the latter, stopping them both dead in their tracks.

"Hunter, a word in my office, please." Startled by the unexpected invite, the mercenary shot a surprised glance at Bobbi, but as she seemed to be caught off guard just as much as him, he finally shrugged and turned to follow Coulson up the stairs to the inner sanctum of the base.

"Yeah, sure, didn't have any plans anyway."

As the two men had vanished from view, Bobbi looked at Agent May questioningly, but before she could ask what all of that had been about, the dark haired woman shook her head, her expression grim.

"You'll find out soon enough, but it's not my place to tell you." And with that cryptic answer, May turned around and headed towards the lab, leaving a clearly concerned agent in her wake.

**To be continued…**


	3. A Personal Matter

**A/N: I find it really confusing how few stories there still are for Bobbi and especially Hunter at this point. I know we don't know that much about them yet, but that didn't stop people last year from going crazy about Skyward after basically two episodes. This really is the first multi-chapter fanfiction with an ongoing plotline about the two, but I really hope it won't be for long. Huntingbird deserves a lot more love ASAP!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: A Personal Matter<strong>

"So, what's this about?", Hunter asked as he dropped into the seat in front of Coulson's desk unceremoniously, looking at the director with a puzzled expression. "There are only so many reasons why you wouldn't say whatever you have to say downstairs in front of the others, and as I can't recall screwing anything up recently, I figure it has to be some kind of bad news, right?"

He kept watching Coulson expectantly, but the other man didn't reply immediately. Instead he walked slowly behind his desk, where he stood next to his chair, his eyes wandering over his collection of old SHIELD memorabilia for a moment, deep in thought. But as patience had never exactly been Hunter's strong suit, he continued pushing for an answer.

"That unit that was killed back in the UK, any of my old mates in it, is that what you're going to tell me?", he asked, trying not to let the prospect of more of his friends having been killed by HYDRA get to him. But he was still visibly relieved as Coulson finally replied.

"No, this has nothing to do with that. I have no idea if you knew any of the men who were killed last night. The reason why I wanted to talk to you in private, is that this is about a somewhat personal matter, which I thought was better to discuss without the rest of the team present," the director explained, but his answer only managed to confuse Hunter further.

"A 'personal matter', you sure this is the right time for that?", he asked sceptically. "Because I could swear that we're in the middle of an operation against HYDRA right now, so maybe it could just wait for a bit?" But Coulson shook his head, his expression unreadable.

"No, I'm afraid this can't wait. Hunter, I asked you to come up here, because I wanted to talk to you about your parents."

Coulson waited for the younger man to say anything, but for a very long moment he simply stared back at him, completely dumbfounded, until he finally replied, obviously angry.

"And here I actually believed Bobbi when she told me that she hadn't talked to you. But whatever she said to you to get you to do this, I'm going to tell you exactly what I told her earlier. I have _no_ interest _whatsoever_ to hear about my parents' history. So what if they were agents of SHIELD? Whatever curiosity I had to learn more about their past vanished a long time ago, so I'd be more than happy if we could just leave it at that, alright?"

"So you do know that they were with SHIELD. I wasn't sure," Coulson now admitted, clearly startling Hunter.

"What? But… I thought Bobbi told you?", he asked, completely puzzled by now.

"No, actually Agent Morse hasn't told me anything. She didn't come to me to talk about you, let alone your parents, and while I realise that they might not be your favourite subject, if I'm right about the poison HYDRA used in their traps last night, there is a connection there that we can't afford to ignore, no matter your personal feelings."

While he was still confused about why Coulson had chosen this particular moment to bring up his parents, even though he had been working for the guy for several months now, Hunter couldn't help but be immensely relieved that Bobbi hadn't been the one who had set him up to it after all. The mercenary still wasn't sure how he would classify their current relationship or where it was headed, but he knew that her going to Coulson behind his back would have seriously undermined his trust in her, undoing the tentative improvements between them of the past few days possibly for good.

"What connection?", he finally asked, trying to understand what was going on. "Did my father work with that stuff back when he was one of your scientists?"

"Yes, he did, and if we're really dealing with a modified version of the same poison now, I want you to fly to England and bring him back here to help Simmons work on an antidote." Hunter's expression hardened as he listened to Coulson's words, and even though he knew what was at stake, he just couldn't bring himself to look past the old resentments he still carried towards his parents and his father in particular.

"You don't need my help for that," he scoffed, not even trying to hide the depth of his aversion towards this assignment. "Send May or Trip or whoever, as long as it's someone with a SHIELD badge, I'm sure my dad's gonna jump at the opportunity to get back into action. I haven't talked to him in years, so if anything, me being there would only make things more difficult."

"He has no idea that you're working with SHIELD yourself now, does he?", Coulson asked, one eyebrow raised slightly as he leaned back in his chair, scrutinising the mercenary in front of him curiously.

"Of course he doesn't," Hunter replied, the sharp edge of hurt and anger in his voice unmistakable. "That man never said a single word about the work he did for SHIELD and if my mum hadn't told me the truth before she died, I still wouldn't even have a clue that they were ever agents to begin with. I mean, an awful lot of good knowing about their past did me, obviously, but I guess at least it explained why neither of them had ever been a contestant for the 'parent of the year' award," the mercenary finished, shaking his head at the memory.

Coulson studied Hunter for a moment, trying to decide how to continue this conversation. He knew that he was right at least in so far as he could just as easily send Agent May or one of the others to ask his father for help with this operation, but he also couldn't shake the urge to arrange a little family reunion, especially given the fact that he considered both of Hunter's parents his friends, which was also the reason why the younger man's bitter tone towards them didn't sit well with him.

"Hunter, I knew your parents back in the day. We did several operations together and we weren't just colleagues, we were friends. They did a very important job working for SHIELD, they saved countless lives over the years and while I know that it wasn't always easy for them to combine this career with having a family, I also know for a fact that they spent every moment they could with you."

At this point Hunter actually let out a mirthless laugh, disdain seeping into his voice without him even realising.

"'Every moment they could'? Now that's rich. I sometimes didn't see them for months and I don't care how well you knew them or what great agents they were, because they were rubbish parents who always – and I mean _always_ – put their work in front of their family. Why do you think I haven't talked to my old man in ages?"

Coulson wasn't really sure what it was, but something about Hunter always managed to rub him the wrong way, and hearing his resentful attitude towards his parents now, people whom the director had always liked and respected, finally managed to make him angry enough to forget his better judgement at least for a moment.

"Oh, buhu. Stop whining, will you? I'm sorry mommy and daddy weren't there every night to put you to bed as a kid, but so what? You think that's an excuse to keep acting like a child even though you're a grown man now?"

His expression furious, Hunter got up from his chair without thinking and slammed his hands down on Coulson's desk, leaning forward so that he was staring directly at the older agent.

"Alright, mate, I think this would be a really good time for you to call Agent May in here for backup, because director or not, I swear to god I'm gonna smack you!" But Coulson wasn't that easily intimidated and he took his time to answer.

"I'm not your mate, and honestly, I'd like to see you try," he replied calmly, looking Hunter straight in the eye until the mercenary finally backed down after an uncomfortably long moment and sat on his chair again, though obviously still angry.

Coulson studied the mercenary for a few seconds, already regretting his angry words as he could easily see that he had struck a particularly sensitive nerve with his accusations. But he also wasn't willing to let the topic go just yet, as he knew that if he wanted Hunter to be able to work with his father on this mission, the younger man would have to understand a few things first and so he continued resolutely.

"I know how much your parents loved you, Hunter, and that every time they went out on a mission, they made perfectly sure you were taken good care of, so maybe it's time that you get over yourself and start to accept that even though your childhood probably wasn't all sunshine and rainbows, it wasn't as terrible as you like to make it out to be, either." He tried to keep his tone friendly this time, trying to reach the mercenary instead of just accusing him as he had done before.

"Your parents weren't home with you as much as you would have liked, I get that, but it wasn't as much as _they_ would have liked, either. But they did what they could under the circumstances, trying to balance their work for SHIELD with their family life, because they, in contrast to you, _were_ 'bigger picture' kind of people," Coulson pointed out, echoing a remark Agent Hartley had once made about her partner.

But Hunter was obviously not impressed and he leaned forward in his seat again, staring at Coulson with a mixture of defiance and bitterness.

"Right. Now how about you try explaining that 'bigger picture' to a six year old, who just broke his arm so badly that he actually needed to have surgery and whose parents didn't show up until three weeks later? Or to a twelve year old, who had to spend the third Christmas in a row with his aunt, because his own folks just couldn't make it? Or maybe to a seventeen year old who wasn't even disappointed anymore when his parents didn't show up to his graduation, because he obviously never expected them to be there anyway." He grimaced slightly at the memories, reprimanding himself inwardly, as a part of him was still angry about all those things even though he had vowed to himself a long time ago to put that behind him.

But then he continued, suddenly needing to vent all his frustration not just about his parents, but also about the organisation that had kept them away from him, now that Coulson had opened up the old wounds.

"You SHIELD people always love to pretend you're so high and mighty, constantly out there saving the world, but the truth is that while you care so much about all of mankind, you don't give a shit about those around you. You're the director now, you're calling the shots and I know you always try to do the right thing, but I also know that as long as you would deem it worthwhile, you wouldn't hesitate to send every single one of our team to our deaths to further your plans or complete a mission." Hunter could see that Coulson wanted to say something in return, but he hurried to continue, because he wasn't finished yet.

"I know you've always looked down on me, because I don't share your great ideals and because I fight for money, but at least I don't sacrifice other people or my relationships to them for the so-called 'greater good'," he huffed, getting out of his chair and walking over to the window to look outside, suddenly feeling trapped inside the brick walls of the building, despite the rather large scale of the room.

As Coulson replied, he finally realised that convincing Hunter was obviously out of the question, but as he was still the director, as the mercenary had noted so astutely, he knew that it wasn't really necessary either.

"I guess we're not going to see eye to eye on this, but luckily we don't have to. You're going to get paid for this assignment as usual, so I assume you'll follow orders, but I hope you realise that when you go to England, you'll also have the opportunity to mend one of those relationships that are obviously so important to you."

Hunter sighed and leaned against the window sill for a moment, frustration in his voice as he replied.

"Why do you want my father's help on this anyway? Simmons is good, isn't she, and if you really have to get someone who worked with that poison before, I'm sure there are other agents out there who fit that description. Sending me halfway around the world just to drive me crazy seems a little excessive, even for you, so that's not it, either, so why does it have to be my dad? He's been out of the game for over a decade now, hasn't he?", Hunter asked sceptically as he turned to face the director of SHIELD once more, a part of him already expecting Coulson to tell him otherwise.

But he didn't.

"He has, but he is also the leading expert on the poison that appears to be a prototype of the one HYDRA is using now. He spent years analysing it, trying to find an antidote for it, or even a cure for its effects."

Hunter's expression darkened at this explanation and he paused briefly, as a terrible suspicion suddenly grew inside of him, almost making his voice falter as he utter just one more word.

"Why?", the mercenary needed to know, even though he finally began to suspect the answer, his entire body tensing in response.

Coulson could see the gears behind the younger man's eyes turning, forming a connection he would rather not believe, but he knew that it was time for the whole truth to finally be revealed, no matter how painful it might be.

"Because it's the same poison that killed your mother."

**To be continued…**


	4. Intelligence Work 101

**A/N: Regarding 'The Things We Bury', now that happened even faster than I imagined. :D But damn, Hunter really has some trust issues, although I'm somehow inclined to believe him. He does know her better than anyone else after all.**

**But enough speculation, now back to my story. As Hunter/Bobbi is obviously not that big of a thing here on this site yet, this fanfic has rather few readers so far, so an especially big thank you to everyone who favorited or followed it and especially to those of you who took the time to write a quick review. You're the best!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4:<strong>** Intelligence Work 101**

"_Because it's the same poison that killed your mother." _

Coulson knew that Hunter's parents had always done their best to keep their work and their family life separated. Raising a child while they had both been active agents working for SHIELD must have been one hell of a balancing act, and while they had never revealed many details about their private life, he knew that one of the foundations of that life had been not to let anything related to SHIELD get into it, which had of course also meant leaving everyone, including their own son, in the dark about what they had really been doing for a living.

And while his mother had obviously broken that rule by telling Hunter about her work before her death, judging by the expression on his face right now, the exact circumstances that had let to her being sick in the first place had apparently not been part of that confession.

The mercenary just stared at Coulson with a blank look for a few seconds, giving him the opportunity to continue.

"I take it that's one more of the things your parents never told you about," the director noted, nodding to himself as he realised that he probably should have broken the news a little more gently than he had. But before he could say anything else, a change suddenly occurred in Hunter without warning as disbelieve turned to anger, distorting his features.

He had to admit that a part of him had expected Coulson's answer, but an even larger part of him was now stubbornly refusing to believe it, clinging to the firm conviction that, while both of his parents had always been experts when it had come to telling lies and evading the truth at all costs, at least in that one moment when she had told him about her history as an agent, his mother had been completely honest with him. Because just the thought that she could have kept something this important from him even in her final days, was simply too horrible to accept.

"You bloody arsehole!", Hunter spat out, obviously deeply rattled by what Coulson had just told him, but that emotion was now turning to rage instead as he approached the director's desk once again, stopping right behind the chair he had been sitting on earlier.

"I know lying is like a second nature to spies like you, to get people to do what you want, but what kind of a sick person makes up something like _this_ just to get me invested in an operation?"

Coulson sighed as he returned the younger man's gaze, doing his best to ignore his furious tone under the circumstances.

"I'm telling you the truth, Hunter, but just the fact that you actually think I would lie to you, to Katharine's son, about her death, tells me that you really still have no idea about what kind of person I am."

But the mercenary shook his head in denial, unwilling to accept Coulson's assertions.

"No, my mum died of a heart condition. It forced her to leave SHIELD and my dad got out with her, but it wasn't caused by her job. She knew she was going to die, so before she passed away, she admitted the truth about her past and her connection to SHIELD to me and she would have told me if someone did that to her. She wouldn't have kept that a secret! She _wouldn't _have…" but at this point Hunter just broke off, his mouth still slightly agape and the anger on his face from before now being replaced by an utterly lost expression as he was leaning with both hands on the backrest of the chair in front of Coulson's desk heavily.

He closed his eyes tightly for a moment to block out everything around him, trying to process what he had just been told, but it only resulted in his temper spiking back up as his fingers clenched tightly into the fabric of the backrest and he suddenly pulled the entire thing back angrily, sending the chair flying behind him into the corner of the room.

Hunter buried his face in his hands and took a few deep breaths, trying to get himself under control again, and when he looked back up at Coulson, he was obviously making a conscious effort to appear less affected by the revelation that his mother had concealed the real cause of her death from him, but it was more than apparent that deception had never been his main expertise.

"Admitting one lie in order to keep up another, that's got to be like 'intelligence work 101', right?", the mercenary asked with a weak chuckle, as if he was amused by the easiness with which he had been manipulated by a member of his own family, but the look in his eyes was filled with so much hurt and betrayal, that Coulson couldn't help but feel for him, even though the two of them had never gotten along very well.

But before he could think of anything comforting to say, the door of the office suddenly opened and Agent May entered, her eyes darting immediately to the chair lying in the corner and then back to Hunter and Coulson.

"Is everything under control in here?", she asked warily, scrutinising Hunter, who still seemed completely distraught, for a moment, before focusing back on Coulson.

"Yes, everything's fine. We were just talking," the director assured her with a small smile, glad that his second-in-command was there to have his back, but convinced that it was unnecessary. "Now what did you find?" He indicated the tablet in May's hand, knowing that the agent wouldn't have come back to his office so soon if she didn't have some new information.

"Simmons only needed a few minutes to confirm it; turns out your hunch was right. While it's not an exact match, the poison HYDRA is using now is definitely a derivative of the one SHIELD encountered before."

"You mean the one my mother encountered before. The same poison that killed her," Hunter corrected her with a constricted voice, obviously still trying to wrap his head around the idea.

May's eyes lingered on Coulson for a second, clearly indicating that she was a little surprised at and not completely on board with his decision to tell the mercenary about his mother's true fate just yet, but then she turned to look at him and nodded briefly.

"Yes, that one."

"Did you know her, too?" Hunter now wanted to know, trying to get his mind to focus less on the last memories he had of his mother, how she had died, and more on what kind of person she had been when she had still been alive.

"We met, but I wouldn't say I knew her. I heard she was a very good agent, but we were never in the field together, so I can't give you any firsthand knowledge, if that's what you're looking for."

Hunter merely acknowledged her reply with a simple nod, his expression still shaken, but his demeanour visibly calmer by now.

Deep down he was still angry of course. Angry at Coulson for the callous way he had dismissed the issues between him and his parents and for choosing this moment to reveal that even one of the only things he had thought his mother had ever told him the truth about had been a lie as well, but also at himself for trusting anything his parents had said to him in the first place.

He had grown up with the unwavering certainty that for whatever reason, be it to protect him or just their own secrets, the people closest to him in his life had a habit of lying to him and keeping things from him, so over time he had learned if not to live with it, then at least not to be surprised by it any longer. But if the emotional turmoil inside of him right now was any indication, he had allowed himself to let his guard down at least this once. But he promised himself that it wouldn't happen again.

Swallowing hard, Hunter tried to relax his body again, the tension in his shoulders almost painful by now, and looked at Coulson, doing his best to make a professional impression, even though he knew that that wasn't exactly easy after everything that had happened over the past few minutes.

"Alright, I'll do it. I'll go to England and get my father back here so he can help us against HYDRA, but obviously I'm gonna need a pilot," he stated, glancing at May. But the female agent didn't get the chance to voice her opinion on the matter as Coulson replied in her stead.

"Trip will take you. The Quinjet should be refuelled and ready to go in about twenty minutes, which I think is just enough time to let someone from our medical staff take a look at that bruise on your cheek. That really does look pretty painful," Coulson finished with a sympathetic look at the still fresh injury left from the mission earlier this day, but Hunter only stared back at him exasperatedly, obviously perplexed at the sudden change of topic.

"Really, that's what you're concerned about now? You sure you haven't been talking to Bobbi?"

"Quite sure, yes. Now, if you'll excuse us," Coulson started, indicating to the mercenary that he was dismissed. Before Hunter could leave the room though, the director held him back once more briefly.

"Tell Trip to get ready, I'll catch up with you in the hangar before you leave to give you a quick final briefing."

Nodding, Hunter turned on his heel and headed for the door, glad to finally be able to leave Coulson's office, even though by now he was able to hide just how much his mind was still reeling after everything he had learned during their conversation.

After the mercenary had closed the door behind him and his steps had faded away down the corridor, May turned to Coulson with a sceptical expression.

"Do you think this was a good idea, telling him about what happened to Katharine? He obviously didn't take it that well," she observed with a quick glance at the chair still lying in the corner.

"He would have found out sooner or later anyway, and as his relationship with his father already seems to be difficult enough, I figured it might actually be better coming from me," Coulson explained, but he could tell by the way May's eyebrows rose slightly, that she wasn't entirely convinced.

"Alright, but why didn't you wait until you knew for sure the poison was even related to the one that killed his mother?"

"I was pretty certain," the director assured her, but then continued grudgingly as he realised that his friend was still watching him with doubt in her eyes. "I know both Katharine and Robert always wanted to keep their son out of SHIELD, but somehow he found his way here anyway. He is a good asset in the field, but he isn't committed yet. I thought that maybe, if he knew that his parents were working for SHIELD as well, and how much it meant to them, he would decide to stay permanently. But he already knows and obviously it didn't have quite the effect on him I had hoped for."

"And now what, you're really going to send him to his father alone, hoping that he won't just kill him instead of bringing him back here?"

"No," Coulson replied with a smile, which only grew wider as there suddenly was a soft knock on the door. "Sending him alone wasn't really the plan."

**To be continued…**


	5. Good Luck

**A/N: As I already said in the summary, you should have read "Secret Keeper" to fully understand this story. This chapter in particular will rely heavily on it.**

**Also, thank you all once again for all the continued support for this story! I'll try to keep us this update speed, which is actually crazy fast for me, but receiving any kind of feedback definitely helps with that.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: Good Luck<strong>

Bobbi was sitting on the couch in the main room of the base, drumming her fingers on her leg impatiently. They were in the middle of an all-hands-on-deck situation, as HYDRA had murdered dozens of people just hours ago, which made the fact that Coulson had chosen this moment to discuss something with Hunter in private all the more confusing.

She didn't know what he could possibly want to talk about with the mercenary, but she just hoped that if her initial suspicion, that her ex-husband had somehow managed to get himself into trouble once again, was right, it wasn't anything too serious. But then again, if it wasn't serious, why would Coulson spare the time right now to deal with it in the first place?

Bobbi sighed absentmindedly, knowing that this wasn't like her. She wasn't one to question the actions or motives of her superiors, instead she was usually content with waiting for her orders and accepted the compartmentalisation of information as one of the basic rules of her job, but at least recently she found that her earlier quip to Hunter was becoming more and more true, as his impatient nature seemed to be rubbing off on her.

She wasn't entirely sure why this was happening now, when in the past all his nosiness had done had been to set her on edge, whether it was because they had both changed in the years since their divorce or because the world around them was so different now, but for some reason both her and Hunter were seeing more eye to eye at the moment than they had ever done before.

Of course that didn't mean that they couldn't still start to fight at any moment, but if Bobbi had needed any proof that she wasn't the only one who could feel that things were somehow different between them now, the way Hunter had opened up to her only a few days ago would have been more than enough.

At first, the idea that Hunter had been keeping things from her during their relationship hadn't even bothered her. While it had made him a rather large hypocrite for always nagging her about everything, Bobbi firmly believed that it wasn't necessary to share all your secrets with your spouse to lead a functioning marriage, but once she had learned the truth, not just about her ex's childhood and how his parents' secrecy had turned him into the constantly suspicious mess he was today, but also about their very first meeting, she had felt betrayed to a degree she hadn't even thought possible after they had been separated for so long now.

As an agent whose specialty was undercover work, Bobbi had been sent after more targets than she cared to remember, often with the mission to seduce them to get the intel she needed, but the thought that her own husband had approached her at first with that exact objective in mind, had been more painful than she liked to admit.

But while she had actually considered becoming physically violent for a moment as he had revealed that bit of information to her, the very fact that Hunter was not an undercover specialist had finally convinced her to believe his assertions that their marriage had not been based on a lie. He might have been able to hide the true reason for approaching her in the first place, but despite her initial moment of doubt, deep down Bobbi knew that the mercenary's feelings for her had always been genuine. All those times he had told her how much he loved her, his feelings reflected in his eyes so clearly, hadn't all been lies.

Lance Hunter had truly loved her; if there was just one thing in her life that Bobbi was absolutely certain of, this was it.

But even though, given that knowledge, she had forgiven her ex rather quickly for that lie, a part of her was still angry at him for keeping the truth about his parents from her. But unlike Hunter, it wasn't so much the secret itself that bothered her, but rather the possibility of what might have been, if he had just been honest with her.

While it hadn't been the only reason for the end of their marriage, Hunter's obsession with getting her to always tell him the truth about everything had been a constant obstacle in their relationship and a repeated cause for heated arguments between them, which in the end had worn them both down so much that fighting _with_ each other had become far more natural to them than fighting _for_ each other.

And now that she knew the truth, a part of Bobbi couldn't help but wonder if things would have been different between them if she had known from the start what a toll the constant lies and secrets of his childhood had taken on Hunter and just how much it must have killed him everytime she had treated him the exact same way his parents had without even realising it.

But while it hurt to think about what could have been, she also figured that maybe the mercenary had been right, and while it was too late now to save the past and what they used to have, they could at least use this as an opportunity to move on from here and start over with both of them on the same level this time.

But the agent's train of thought was cut short as she suddenly heard footsteps coming down the stairs from Coulson's office. For a brief second she thought it was May again, who had headed upstairs only a few minutes ago, but then she recognised Hunter's heavier steps and jumped to her feet, not even trying to hide the fact that she had been waiting for him.

But the mercenary didn't even notice her at first, as his thoughts were obviously somewhere else entirely as he was headed out of the room, looking thoroughly shaken.

"What did Coulson want?", Bobbi asked, pulling Hunter back to the here and now, even though she was kicking herself mentally for this rather unprofessional prying. But if before she had been only a little concerned about what the director of SHIELD had wanted to discuss with her ex-husband, she was truly worried now as she could see the stunned expression on the latter's face and the pain in his eyes, although he managed to hide all of that the instant he became aware of her.

"Bobbi, I… I didn't realise you were still here," he noted, glancing around the otherwise empty room.

"There's not really much I can do to help at the moment, so I figured I might as well stay here and see if anything else comes up," the agent replied vaguely, doing her best not to let her concern for her ex show. "And, did anything come up?", she asked again, fully aware that she was being less than subtle with her curiosity.

But the mercenary let his eyes wander around the room for a few more seconds before replying, clearly unwilling to reveal the content of his conversation with Coulson to Bobbi. But it wasn't so much that he didn't want to tell her, more that he didn't really know where to start or how to put into words what he had just found out about the connection between the poison from HYDRA's latest attack and his parents.

So instead he chose to go with what he thought was enough of the truth for the moment, fully intend on telling his ex-wife the whole story once he had had the chance to process everything himself.

"Well… um… I'm gonna be heading out with Trip soon. Coulson wants us to pick up some scientist who might know more about that poison HYDRA is using now."

The blond agent stared back at him for a second, visibly perplexed by that answer, but also obviously relieved.

"Really, that's it? I mean, that sounds like a pretty solid lead to me, which is of course good news, but why couldn't Coulson just say that here while we were all gathered around? And when I tried to ask May about what was going on, she made the whole thing sound so mysterious that she actually had me worried there for a moment." The agent shook her head and laughed briefly at herself for letting her imagination run wild, but then she suddenly noticed that Hunter was avoiding her eyes and she could spot just the slightest of frowns on his face, like he always had when he was feeling guilty about something, and she sobered up again immediately, realising that he was keeping something from her after all.

"Okay, Hunter, I know that expression, so what are you hiding? Coulson didn't order you to lie to me, or else you wouldn't be feeling guilty about it, you just don't want to tell me something. What is going on?"

Her voice was sharp with frustration as Bobbi glared at her ex furiously, but once he realised that she could see right through his charade, he dropped the act, and the overwhelming mix of anger, hurt, betrayal and confusion he still felt manifested on his features again, catching the agent of guard and causing her to forget everything but her concern for the mercenary for the moment.

Taking a startled breath, she crossed the distance between them in an instant and laid a gentle hand on Hunter's arm as she looked straight at him, her voice soft and filled with worry as she spoke again, all the harshness from before gone.

"Lance, please tell me what happened. What did Coulson tell you?"

Swallowing hard, Hunter avoided Bobbi's gaze for another moment, before finally looking back at her, a grudging expression on his face as he gave into her pleading and told her the truth.

"Well, as it turns out, it's not just 'some scientist' Coulson wants me and Trip to bring back here, it's my father." Judging by the look on her face, Bobbi had about a million questions about that revelation, but for the moment she was completely dumbfounded as she stared back at the mercenary, not knowing what to say. But he was actually rather glad about that as her silence allowed him to continue before he could change his mind.

"And the reason why he's so valuable for this operation is that my parents lied to me – of course – when they told me about my mother's condition. She didn't have some heart disease, she died because she'd been poisoned with the same stuff that HYDRA is using now, or a prototype of it – whatever. Apparently my dad tried to save her, but even though he failed, obviously, he's still the best expert on that poison there is, so now Coulson is sending me off to England to recruit him for this mission, whether I like it or not. So if you ever felt the need to wish me 'good luck' before I head out on an assignment, now would probably be a really good time for that," he finished half jokingly, trying not to show how much all of this was getting to him, but of course Bobbi knew him better than to fall for such a weak attempt at fooling her.

But she still didn't really know what to say, especially since she knew basically nothing about Hunter's parents or his relationship to them, other than what he had revealed to her over the last few days.

"Hunter, I…" she began, only to settle on something less emotional in the end, as she had suddenly made a decision that would make any further encouragement for the moment unnecessary.

"Good luck," she finished quietly, simply nodding to her ex, which he took as a sign that they were done here for now. But as Hunter turned around and left the room, probably on his way to Agent Triplett to let him know about their assignment, Bobbi's expression became resolute as she started walking up the stairs in the direction of Coulson's office, already thinking of different ways to convince the director to send her to England as well, as she had decided that there was no way that she was going to let Hunter go through this operation alone.

By the time she was in front of Coulson's door, she had already come up with several angles to justify her inclusion in this mission, although none of them were the real reason why she knew that she had to accompany her ex-husband, and that was that she could tell just how much he was hurting right now and that, if seeing his father again would really be as painful and difficult for him as she suspected, someone had to be there for him to support and focus him.

And despite their constant arguing and the fact that their relationship wasn't exactly easy, either, she knew that she was the only person who could do that.

**To be continued… **


	6. One Long Day

**Chapter 6: One Long Day**

Hunter was sitting in the back of the Quinjet, resting his forehead on the heels of his hands wearily, as by now he was almost certain that this day was never going to end.

They were still parked in SHIELD's hangar and Coulson, who was standing on the jet's ramp, had just finished retelling at least part of what he had told the mercenary earlier, to brief Trip and the newest member of their operation on their assignment. But while Hunter was definitely grateful that the director had left out the fact that his own mother had been the SHIELD agent, who had been poisoned with a similar substance to the one HYDRA was using now, and whom his father had treated extensively, making him an expert on the matter, he still didn't understand why the agent had insisted on sending Bobbi along on the mission.

As if the prospect of having to talk to his father again after years of dead silence between them wasn't bad enough, the fact that he was going to have to spend the entire flight there and back again with his ex-wife wasn't making his life any easier either.

He knew of course that they had both been making efforts to improve their relationship, starting with him telling her about his parents and Bobbi's clear displays of concern for him, both after their last mission and earlier after his talk with Coulson, but he also knew that the two of them being locked up together in a space as small as the Quinjet for several hours could only be a recipe for disaster.

After all he still remembered their trip to Okinawa to take down Toshiro Mori all too clearly, and how it seemed almost inevitable that whenever they were in a room together for more than a few minutes, they would end up reopening old wounds that neither of them really wanted to revisit. And right now, Hunter already had more than enough of those to deal with without Bobbi's presence making things worse.

But Coulson had already dismissed his protests, meaning that the mercenary had no choice but to brace himself for what was surely going to be the longest day of his life.

"Alright, so now you all know who the target is. Hunter and Bobbi, you're going to handle the approach, while Trip, you'll make sure to get them all back here as soon as possible. Any questions?", Coulson finished the briefing, looking from the agents Morse and Triplett to Hunter, who still wasn't looking up from his position in one of the seats in the back of the jet. But even though the director already expected him to protest once more against Bobbi's inclusion in the mission, or the assignment in general, it was actually Trip, who spoke up, a slightly confused expression on his face.

"Yeah, I got one. The lead sounds good and the job is straightforward enough, so no problems there, but just so I get this straight,_ his_ dad is actually a scientist?", he asked, disbelief colouring his voice as he pointed over his shoulder at Hunter, who was looking up again now, rolling his eyes and groaning slightly.

"Alright, here we go," the mercenary muttered in reply, already anticipating the jokes that were sure to come now, on how he had not exactly followed in his father's footsteps.

Coulson, who was grinning visibly by now, glanced over at Hunter briefly before facing Trip again, obviously more than eager to talk about his former fellow agent.

"Yes, he is, but not just that. Robert Hunter has two degrees in chemistry and bioengineering, and he was also an excellent field agent in his days," the director of SHIELD explained enthusiastically, although his praise clearly didn't find everybody's favour.

"Yes, isn't he great?", Hunter replied sarcastically, causing Coulson to look at him with a disapproving frown.

"Okay, I think by now we all got that you two have your differences, but when you see your father, please remember that you're on a mission. Just bring him back here without incident and you can argue with him all you want after he helped us neutralise this Hydra threat."

"I'll make sure he stays civilised," Bobbi announced with a pointed look at Hunter, her arms crossed in front of her chest, and her voice filled with the teasing, almost condescending tone that could drive her ex mad so easily. "And as he obviously doesn't come after his father a lot, I'm sure Agent Hunter will react perfectly rationally and be glad to help us." Hunter stifled a frustrated sigh as he tried not to react to Bobbi's taunting and faced Coulson instead, looking at him uncomprehendingly.

"And you really think this is a good idea, sending _her_ on a several hour trip with me to see my father? I mean, do you actually want me to get a stroke or something, because if you're trying to kill me, I could think of easier ways to get it done." Coulson laughed briefly at this, slowly getting used to Hunter's abrasive form of humour.

"Don't worry, I think you'll be just fine," he assured him with an amused expression before leaving the jet and sending the team on its way.

"Now good luck, and Hunter, tell Bob I'm looking forward to seeing him again and that I haven't forgotten about the bottle of Scotch he still owes me. But if he helps us with this, we can call it even." The mercenary just nodded silently in reply while Bobbi sat down a few seats away from him and Trip made his way to the cockpit to get them into the air.

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><p>They had been flying for a while by now, mostly in silence, when Hunter caught Bobbi glancing at him for what must have been the fifth time in the last two minutes, causing him to turn his head in her direction and address her wearily.<p>

"What?", he asked, clearly not in the mood to talk, but getting rather annoyed by her constant looks.

"Nothing," she began rather unconvincingly, but then continued as Hunter kept looking at her with slightly raised eyebrows. "It's just that I have to admit that I'm pretty curious."

"Curious about what?", the mercenary asked in return, clearly confused now.

"About meeting my ex-father-in-law, of course," Bobbi replied with an expression that stated that this should have been rather obvious. But then something seemed to occur to her, and a slight frown appeared on her features.

"Hunter, you said you haven't talked to your dad in years, so does he even know about me? I mean, you obviously didn't tell him about me being a SHIELD agent, but you told him you got married, right?" She looked at her ex questioningly for a moment, a part of her already expecting him to answer negatively, but then he nodded briefly, even though his eyes weren't meeting Bobbi's anymore.

"Yes, of course he knows. Me and my old man don't get along too well, and I don't think this trip is going to change anything, not after everything that happened, but of course I let him know that I got married."

The blond agent studied Hunter for a few seconds, the fact that he was avoiding her gaze not lost on her, and the weird way he had phrased his reply did the rest to convince her that her ex was once again not telling her the whole truth.

"You 'let him know', what exactly-", but before she could even finish her sentence, the mercenary suddenly interrupted her, obviously eager to change the subject.

"Coulson was lying earlier, wasn't he?", he asked, catching Bobbi off guard for a moment. "When he said that he wanted you to come along on this mission, that it was his idea. You asked him to come, didn't you?" There was no accusation in his voice as Hunter now looked at his ex-wife, taking in her surprised expression. At first she just stared back at him in stunned silence, but then she finally nodded, her features softening.

"How did you know?", she asked, looking in Hunter's eyes, to see him staring back at her, not hiding anything this time.

"We might not have been married that long, but I know you, sweetheart. And if the situation were the other way around, I would have done the exact same thing," he replied honestly, causing Bobbi to smile briefly at him.

"Except that you already met my parents," she pointed out half-jokingly, only for Hunter to frown slightly in return.

"Yeah, and if they suddenly turn out to having been SHIELD agents in the past, I think I might actually like to meet them again," he replied bluntly, but even though he hadn't meant to, his answer clearly managed to rub Bobbi the wrong way.

"What, and otherwise you wouldn't?", she asked, anger creeping into her voice. "Well, if I'd known that meeting them had been that horrible, maybe I would have kept them a secret from you during our marriage as well," the agent declared, not even sure herself why she was suddenly this furious.

And neither was Hunter, going by the utterly startled look on his face.

"Bobbi, are we actually fighting now? How exactly did that happen?", he wanted to know, but his ex-wife shook her head in denial.

"I'm not fighting," she replied in that slightly passive-aggressive tone that could drive Hunter up the wall so easily. But just this once he wasn't in the mood to go another round with her and so he stood up, intending to head to the cockpit, to get at least some peace for now.

"You know what, I'm gonna go check on Trip," he told her, echoing her words from their first mission together on the new team.

"Everything all right back there?", Trip asked, looking up as the mercenary sat down next to him. "You don't look too happy."

"Hell beast, mate, I told you," Hunter replied quietly, so Bobbi wouldn't hear him.

Trip chuckled briefly, remembering all the stories the mercenary had told about his evil ex-wife all too vividly, but then they both remained silent for a while as one of them had to concentrate on flying the jet, while the other was lost in his own thoughts.

But it was Trip, who finally broke the quiet again, glancing over at Hunter with a sympathetic expression.

"So your dad was with SHIELD, huh? You never said anything, so I guess you're not that close, right?"

"Right," Hunter echoed, not really willing to discuss his father or his connection to SHIELD, even though he knew he could hardly avoid the topic much longer. But Trip either hadn't gotten the hint or was deliberately ignoring it.

"I get it, man, parents, they can be difficult sometimes. Drive you mad, really. But to be honest, I do have one more question for you," the agent announced, causing Hunter to look over at him sceptically.

"Do I even want to hear it?", the mercenary asked tiredly, knowing that it was most likely going to be another joke at his expense.

"I was just wondering, now you and your dad obviously have a difficult relationship, you probably fight a lot – or _did_, when you were still talking to him – and as it turns out, his name is _Bob_. Now was it a coincidence that you married a woman called _Bobbi_, or were you actually looking for someone to make you miserable?" Just seeing the cocky grin on his face made Hunter already ponder whether knocking their pilot out was an acceptable risk at the moment, given the fact that they could go to auto-pilot, but then he just took a deep breath instead and opted to simply stare outside, ignoring his friend's comment.

"This is going to be one _long_ day, isn't it?", he finally asked, rubbing his temple absentmindedly, but focused back on Trip when he replied.

"Probably, yeah, but at least this part of it is almost over. We're gonna be there in about fifteen minutes, so whatever issues you and your dad have, you better get ready to put them aside for now," the agent announced, absolutely sincere this time.

Swallowing hard, Hunter just nodded wordlessly and got out of the co-pilot's seat to head into the back of the jet again, a small part of him suddenly glad that he wasn't going to have to go home alone.

**To be continued…**


	7. Fight The Good Fight

**A/N: I just love Hunter and Nick Blood's portrayal of him so much, it's unbelievable. It's just an incredible amount of fun to write his character, but let me know if I ever slip into ooc-ness with him or any of the others.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 7: Fight The Good Fight<strong>

As Hunter and Bobbi were walking down the street to his family's house, the mercenary remained uncharacteristically silent, lost in his own thoughts, as everything around him was a reminder of the years he had spent here as a child.

To avoid startling any of the neighbours by stepping out of an invisible jet in the middle of the street, Trip had landed the aircraft on a small field only a two minutes' walk away, and was waiting there now for them to return with Hunter's father in tow. During a normal operation, it would have been his job to serve as their support and emergency backup, but in this case, the agent had simply been glad to be able to stay behind and avoid the awkwardness that was sure to follow the first meeting of the two Hunters after years of virtually no contact between them at all.

"It's a nice neighbourhood," Bobbi suddenly pointed out, breaking the silence as she looked around at the trees and beautiful houses lining the street, most of them with a bay window to the front and a small but very decorative garden completing the almost perfect picture.

This finally managed to snap Hunter out of his thoughts again, and he nodded as he looked around once more, taking in the scenery, before replying to the agent with a knowing expression on his face.

"Not quite what you expected, is it?", he asked with a smirk, glancing over at Bobbi. "Admit it, you probably thought I grew up in some rundown, shady part of town or something like that. Although I guess that would at least have been an explanation for my unique roguish charm," he mused, scratching the stubble on his chin thoughtfully.

Even though she was rolling her eyes at him, Bobbi couldn't help but smile slightly at her ex's strange humour, which had always been one of the things she liked most about him, despite his frequent tendency to have less than ideal timing with his jokes.

"Yeah, right," she replied with a smirk of her own. "Now, if you ask me, most of the time your 'unique roguish charm' is actually a lot less charming than you think, but you're right, I didn't expect your old home to be in such a pretty and also pretty expensive looking area," the agent agreed, looking over at Hunter with an obviously curious expression, trying to get him to tell her more about his family, now that she was finally about to get a closer look at it.

Knowing that the story behind his old home was probably the least sensitive subject that was going to come up today, the mercenary complied with his ex-wife's unspoken request, almost glad to talk about something regarding his family that wasn't bringing back old resentments.

"The house first belonged to my grandparents, but they gave it to my father when I was born. They thought it would be a good place to start a family," he explained, but as they were getting closer to their destination, Hunter couldn't fight off the glum mood any longer, that had been hanging over him ever since Coulson had given him this assignment. Because no matter how beautiful his childhood home had been, and how well he had always been cared for by his aunt when his parents had been away, all he remembered was a large empty house and a string of lies that had been told to him to keep him from questioning their frequent absence any further.

But as Bobbi was still looking at the houses they walked by interestedly, she replied in a light-hearted tone, completely oblivious to Hunter's sudden mood change

"Not too bad for a birthday gift," she remarked, but then her expression became serious again, as the mercenary finally came to a halt in front of one of the houses, his gaze wandering over it with clear aversion, and if she didn't know better, she would have thought that there was even a small trace of fear in his eyes.

"How long?", she asked quietly, pulling Hunter's attention back to her and earning herself a slightly confused look. "How long since the last time you've been here?", she elaborated, trying to be as considerate with her ex as possible, given the circumstances.

He averted his eyes from her and back to the front door of the building before answering, swallowing hard as he did.

"Couple of years. A few months before we even met, actually." Bobbi's brow furrowed at this as she was connecting what little she knew about Hunter's past prior to their relationship.

"But that was when-"

"When my mum died, yeah," he finished her sentence, a heavy sigh escaping his throat as he continued.

"The last time I was here, it was because my mother was dying. I stayed for a few weeks until she had passed away and then for her funeral, and somehow I even thought that things between me and my dad would be different after that. I mean, I wasn't a kid anymore and I finally knew the truth about their work, about SHIELD, but when I asked him about what Mum had told me, he didn't even want to discuss it. He downright refused to tell me anything about SHIELD or what they had done there and I admit that when I left again, it wasn't a particularly friendly goodbye. But I guess that can't be helped now, right?", he finished with a wry smile as he finally made a conscious effort to move forward and headed up the small path leading to the front entrance.

As they were standing in front of the dark brown wooden door, the mercenary hesitated for another brief moment, but then he took a deep breath and rang the doorbell, his jaw tightening almost unnoticeably.

Ignoring the sympathetic look he knew Bobbi was giving him right now, Hunter kept staring straight ahead at the small stained glass window in the door as he spoke once more, the bitterness in his voice unmistakable, even though he was clearly trying not to let it get the better of him.

"I told my dad I would never set another foot in this house again, unless he was willing to tell me the truth, which I guess was actually kind of prophetic, given the circumstances now," he finished with a weak smile, but the attempt at humour was only half-heartedly, the sad expression in his eyes remaining unchanged.

But before Bobbi could reply anything, there was suddenly movement inside the house, cutting her short.

Going by what Hunter had told her over the past few days, or even by what he had told her just now, Bobbi could only imagine how difficult this moment had to be for him. When the door finally opened a few seconds later, a man with dark brown, slightly grey hair was standing in front of them, surprise clearly visible on his features as he was looking at his unexpected guests. He was still a very handsome man, even though he had to be in his early sixties by now, and as Bobbi took a closer look at him, she could clearly see the family resemblance between him and his son, especially in the line of his jaw and the intensity of his eyes.

"Lance," the former agent began, not really knowing what to say as he had obviously been caught completely off guard.

"Hey, Dad. I know it's been a while," Hunter greeted him with a somewhat forced smile, doing his best not to show how uncomfortable he was at the moment.

"Yes, I assume you could say that," the older man replied with a sigh, his eyes resting on his son for a moment, taking in his appearance as if he was assessing every little detail that had changed over the past five years. As his scrutinising gaze finally focused on the mercenary's bruised cheek, his brow furrowed slightly, even though Hunter was sure that he had seen his father's lips twitch almost unnoticeably.

"But obviously you still have that habbit of getting into fights with the wrong people, don't you?", the former agent asked, more than a trace of disappointment in his voice, causing his son's expression to harden in response, even though his voice remained surprisingly light-hearted as he replied.

"Well, there'd be no point in fighting with them, if they were the 'right' people, or would there be?", he asked in return, and this time the smile on his father's lips was unmistakable, even though the former agent didn't immediately respond to the joking remark. Instead he took another long look at his son and the woman standing next to him, before finally opening the door wider and stepping back, indicating for his guests to come inside.

"No, I guess not. But please, come in, both of you. Whatever it is that brought you back here today, Lance , I'm sure it would be better if we don't discuss it out here on the doorstep."

After glancing over at Bobbi briefly, Hunter nodded and followed the invitation, entering his childhood home once again, memories of his last visit immediately rushing in on him without him being able to stop it.

The house had been filled with so much pain and grief back then after his mother had spent her final weeks bedridden, slowly fading away in front of her family's eyes as her condition had become worse every day. She had refused to go to a hospital, saying that the doctors weren't able to help her anymore and that she wanted to die in peace in her own home, but now Hunter couldn't help but wonder how much the true nature of her condition and the fact that she had been lying to him about it, had played a role in her decision.

"Now, don't you think it's time that you introduce me to your companion, Lance?", his father suddenly asked, effectively pulling the mercenary back to the present. They had just made their way through the hallway and into the living room and Hunter had had to fight the sudden urge to hang up his jacket on the coat rack as he was so used to, reminding himself that they didn't plan to stay long.

After he cleared his throat in an awkward attempt at stalling, Hunter nodded, knowing that he couldn't delay this any further. But as he started talking again, he briefly wondered who of the two people in the room would end up being angrier with him once this part of the conversation was over.

"Dad, this is Barbara Morse, I told you about her once and we're working together at the moment, and Bobbi, this is my father, Dr. Robert Hunter."

"It's nice to meet you, sir." If she might have had any objections to Hunter's rather professional introduction, the blond agent didn't show it as she greeted his father with a friendly smile, extending her hand to him, but the moment he heard her name, the scientist looked over at his son, obviously startled, before facing Bobbi again, a warm expression on his face as he took her hand in his.

"Just call me Robert, alright? And I have to say, it really is about time we finally meet. But I feel like I have to apologise for my son's manners, because if I had ever introduced _my_ wife as 'someone I work with' to my family, she would have never let me live that down."

Taken aback for a moment, Bobbi finally realised why her ex had been so closed off earlier about what exactly he had told his father about her and so she shot him a brief angry glare, stating clearly that she would make him regret putting her in this position, before turning to the former agent again, trying to think of the best way to explain the situation to him.

But before she had the chance to say anything, Hunter beat her to it, knowing that this was his mess to clean up, not hers.

"Actually, Dad, Bobbi and I aren't together anymore. We got divorced almost two years ago, but somehow we ended up working together again recently."

The former agent's disappointment at this news was almost palpable, but there was also something else in his expression as he looked at his son again, something Bobbi could only interpret as anger, the intensity of his reaction startling her at first.

"Would it come as a surprise to you if I tell you that this is actually something I would have liked to know about?", Hunter's father asked, his voice calm, but filled with the same old resentment the female agent had heard from his son so many times by now. "But then again, maybe you just couldn't find a stamp at the time to tell me what had happened." At this point Bobbi looked from one Hunter to the other, clearly confused.

"'Couldn't find a stamp', what's that supposed to mean?", she asked in bewilderment, only for her ex to look even more uncomfortable than before.

"Oh, I take it Lance never told you about the postcard he sent me from your honeymoon. Two whole sentences to let me know he had gotten married and not a word in the years before and since. Not since his mother passed away anyway."

If Hunter had tried to keep his temper in check so far for the sake of both the mission and Bobbi, the mention of his mother finally made him lose his cool, his anger rising quickly as all the issues he still had with his father came back to the surface quickly.

"I had a very good reason for staying away all this time, and you know it!", he argued, completely forgetting his earlier resolution not to let his father get under his skin again. "If you had wanted me to stick around after mum died, you could have just told me something, _anything_ about what she said to me about your work for SHIELD, but you didn't. You chose your bloody secrets over me – _again –_ so excuse me for not staying in touch after that."

The mercenary was glaring at his father furiously, but before either of them could say anything else, Bobbi suddenly stepped in front of her ex-husband, laying a firm hand on his chest and making sure he was looking at her as she spoke to him in a determined tone.

"Alright, Hunter, this isn't helping. I know you and your father have a lot to discuss, and you really should, but not right now. Right now we still have a mission to complete, so please, let us all act like professionals for a moment, okay?" But before Hunter could reply anything to her, his father's voice interrupted him, filled with recognition and mild surprise.

"You're with the agency, aren't you?", he asked Bobbi, causing the agent to turn around to him, her expression impassive, as she did her best not to take any side in the conflict between the scientist and her ex-husband.

"I'm working for SHIELD, yes, and so is your son. And the reason we're here is because we want to ask for your help. There has been a series of attacks with thirty-six deaths last night, all of them conducted with a derivative of the same poison that killed your wife and as there is nobody who has done as much research on the substance as you have, Director Coulson would like you to assist our scientists with finding an antidote for it."

Considering the amount of new information the agent had just revealed with these few sentences, it wasn't much of a surprise that Hunter's father needed a moment to process all of it, a fact his son used to address him once more, although considerably calmer this time.

"What do you say, Dad? Fight the good fight and save the world one more time?" There was a distinct amount of sarcasm in his voice, but despite of that, the mercenary had no doubt that the one constant in his father's life, his loyalty to SHIELD and the 'greater good' would make this opportunity pretty much a non-decision for him, which was exactly why the older man's next words left him utterly dumbfounded.

"No, I'm sorry, but I can't help you. I am done with SHIELD for good."

**To be continued… **


	8. Lies and Secrets

**Chapter 8: Lies and Secrets**

"_No, I'm sorry, but I can't help you. I am done with SHIELD for good."_

The words were still ringing in Hunter's ears, sending him reeling as he couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!", he burst out, pushing Bobbi's hand away and stepping forward so that he was facing his father directly again.

"When I was a kid you could never wait to get back out there, to leave and go on another mission for SHIELD, and the one time I actually want you to, you say '_no_'? Now if this is you getting back at me for not staying in contact after I left, I have to tell you that it's an extremely poor way of doing that. Dozens of soldiers are dead, men who were fighting to take down HYDRA and we need your help if we want to keep even more people from being killed. So you better find some other way of punishing me, because this is just ridiculous."

The mercenary had gotten himself completely worked up by now, his father's uncooperative behaviour taking away any last restrains he might have had before in order not to endanger the operation, but as the former agent finally replied, his voice calm and collected, it was as if his words were pulling the rug out from right under Hunter's feet, taking away the anger that had been masking his pain so far and leaving only hurt and bitterness behind.

"No, Lance, you're wrong, my decision has nothing to do with you." The younger man laughed humourlessly at this, nodding his head slightly.

"Right, how could I forget? No decision you ever made had anything to do with me, so how could I even think that now would be different?"

"Hunter, please-", Bobbi suddenly chimed in, trying to placate her ex, but he immediately interrupted her, and even though he was addressing the blond woman, his eyes never left his father.

"Oh, don't worry, I've got this. I'm not the one making this difficult after all." And then, talking directly to the man in front of him this time, he continued.

"Alright, if this really isn't about me then, why don't you go ahead and explain just why exactly you don't want to come with us? Coulson's been going on about what a great agent you apparently were and that you two were friends, so even if you don't want to do this for me, why don't you want to help out your old mate and save countless lives in the process? Doesn't sound like such a horrible thing to me."

Hunter was looking at his father uncomprehendingly, actually trying to understand why he would refuse to come back to SHIELD with him and Bobbi. Because despite the countless scenarios that had played out in his head on the way here, about how exactly their reunion could end in a disaster, the possibility that his dad could simply refuse to help them without him screwing everything up first, had never even crossed his mind.

But as Robert Hunter finally began to explain himself, his son clearly wasn't particularly impressed or convinced.

"Believe me, I have my reasons. Of course I will give you all the research data I still have on the substance that was used to poison your mother and on everything I tried to cure her condition, but I won't go with you. My days as an agent are long gone. The SHIELD I knew is gone. I teach chemistry at the local college now and I have no desire to go back to that life again. Not even for one more mission."

"You know," the mercenary now replied slowly, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly in suspicion, "I've spent almost two decades in this house, listening to you and Mum telling me lie after lie while you kept all your little secrets to yourself, and then I've spent a few more years with a woman who's been doing pretty much the same thing – no offence, love," he quickly added with a side glance at Bobbi.

"Oh, we'll see about that," she promised ominously, but after a brief worried expression quickly passed over Hunter's face, he focused back on his father again.

"What I'm saying is, by now I can usually tell when people are trying to take the piss out of me, and right now, you definitely are."

"I gave you my reason, Lance, which you obviously don't have to like, but I'm not lying to you," the scientist replied, anger seeping into his voice slowly, as he clearly didn't like the way his own son was talking to him.

After taking a long, scrutinising look at her ex-father-in-law, Bobbi turned to Hunter as well, her expression sceptical.

"Are you sure? Because I don't get the sense that he's lying and you know that getting a read on people, that's actually part of my job." But the mercenary simply nodded without hesitation, obviously completely certain that he was right.

"Absolutely sure, yeah. You're forgetting that my dad used to be a highly trained agent and you just haven't spent enough time with him yet to get a proper read on him, so don't take it too hard that I beat you to it this time, eh?"

"I said I am not lying, and this is really getting repetitive." The briefest flicker of doubt passed over Hunter's features at his father's insistence, but then he shook his head and continued, talking directly to the former agent this time.

"Alright, so maybe you're not lying, but there's definitely something you're not telling us, I just can't figure out why. You know, I didn't exactly volunteer for this mission, either, but Coulson convinced me that recruiting your help was important, because right now HYDRA is out there, already planning how they can murder even more people with the same stuff that killed mum. So how the _bloody_ _hell_ can you just want to sit by and do nothing? Do you think that's what she would have wanted?"

The question hung heavily in the air for a moment, as Dr. Hunter fixated his son with a piercing glare, a small trace of sadness and guilt, but mostly anger colouring his voice as he replied.

"Lance, don't pretend you know what your mother would have wanted in this situation, because you _don't_. Just because she told you that she and I used to work for SHIELD, does not mean that you know who she was as an agent."

Years of pent up emotions on both sides were breaking through now, opening up old wounds and threatening to create new ones in the process. Caught off guard by how quickly the situation seemed to be escalating, Bobbi was left speechless for a moment as she watched father and son trade verbal blows with each other. And now it was her ex-husband's turn to make the next move.

"You're right, I don't. I barely know who she was as a person, but trust me, you _really_ don't want me to get into the question of who's to blame for that right now," Hunter declared, his voice sharp with unspoken blame. A part of him knew that this confrontation was already threatening to get out of control and that he was being the exact opposite of helpful right now, but he honestly couldn't care less, as every word out of his father's mouth seemed to bring back the anger and even hatred he had felt for his parents growing up.

"Alright, I get it," Dr. Hunter replied, his temper flaring up now as well, "you're still angry because your mother and I were gone so much when you were a child, but it was you who turned your back on us when you left after you had graduated, not the other way around. You didn't even tell us you wanted to join the army until _after_ you had enlisted."

But the mercenary wasn't willing to take that accusation and answered back immediately, his voice practically dripping with spite and sarcasm now.

"Well, I _tried_ to tell you at my graduation ceremony, but… oh wait, no, I couldn't, because you weren't _there_. Because you were _never_ there!", he all but shouted, finally crossing a line Bobbi wouldn't tolerate.

"Okay, enough!", the blond agent now interrupted the two men, her blue eyes staring fiercely at her ex-husband, not allowing any objections. "Hunter, you haven't been here in a while, so why don't you go and have a look around the house while I talk to your dad for a minute? Because I think we all need to take a deep breath right now and focus again, and maybe that would work better if you just take a step back, just for a moment." The mercenary was glaring angrily at her, obviously biting back a bitter remark, but then he finally nodded and glanced back at his father briefly before turning around.

"I guess it won't hurt to take a look at the place while we're here. But if you ask me, I'd say we just take his notes and whatever data he still has on that poison and get out of here. Maybe Simmons can use that and our trip here won't have been a complete waste of time." And before he left the living room and shut the door behind him, he added, "At least now I get to tell Coulson that I was right and it really was a stupid idea to send me here."

Once the door had closed and they could hear Hunter head down the corridor into a different part of the house, his father exhaled audibly, visibly shaken by what had transpired over the last few minutes. Then he walked over to a small table in the corner that carried an assortment of liquor bottles, where he picked up an expensive looking one and two glasses, immediately pouring a drink for himself before halting to look over at Bobbi.

"Do you want one, too?", he asked almost sympathetically, knowing that it couldn't have been especially pleasant to have witnessed the scene that had just played out between him and his son.

The agent hesitated for a second, but then shook her head, although clearly reluctant.

"To be honest, I would love to have a drink right now, but I really shouldn't. Not during a mission and not while Hunter is like _that_." But then, realising who she was talking to, Bobbi quickly continued. "Well, you know, the _other_ Hunter."

Letting out a soft understanding chuckle, the scientist poured a small amount of the amber liquid into the second glass anyway and put it down on the coffee table, before indicating to the agent to sit down on the couch.

"Just in case you change your mind. It's a really fine Scotch and knowing my son, you're definitely going to need it sooner or later today," he explained, taking a seat in the armchair opposite from her.

Bobbi watched the liquor in front of her for a moment, slightly torn about how exactly she was going to continue this conversation. As she had come to realise that there was a surprising amount of things she actually didn't know about her ex, there were about a million questions she would have liked to ask his father right now, but she also knew that there were more important things at the moment than her personal curiosity. And as Dr. Hunter had just given her the perfect lead-in to get back to her actual assignment, she quickly decided to go with a professional topic for now.

"Before we left the base, Director Coulson actually mentioned something about a bottle of Scotch you still owe him. But he said he would call it even if you agree to help us instead."

But as he obviously hadn't changed his mind about not wanting to go back to SHIELD yet, the former agent pointedly ignored Bobbi's obvious request and chose to focus on something else she had said instead.

"'_Director_ Coulson', now how exactly did that happen? When I heard that SHIELD was still around, even after what happened at the Triskelion and HYDRA revealing itself, I figured that Fury must have faked his death and was still running the show, but to think that Phil is in charge now – I admit, that isn't something I would have expected." The astonishment in his voice was more than audible, but it wasn't really clear whether the news had surprised him in a good or in a bad way.

But as Bobbi didn't really care either way, she replied immediately without trying to figure out what the scientist was thinking about their current leader.

"Well, actually Director Fury did not fake his death-", she began to explain, but Dr. Hunter interrupted her, a knowing glint in his eyes as he took another sip from his drink.

"If you say so." But the agent ignored his doubtful remark, going on as if she hadn't even heard it.

"But before he died, he took precautions to make sure that SHIELD could be rebuilt, even after a catastrophic event like this. And he trusted Agent Coulson to do that, because he knew that he is loyal and dedicated to everything SHIELD stands for, to what it's always been _supposed_ to stand for, and that he will find a way to built it back up even better than before." A small smile appeared on Bobbi's lips at this point as she realised just how much she actually believed in what she was saying right now.

"I admit, we're just getting started, and it's not without growing pains, but we'll get there eventually. And to be honest, even though he probably doesn't even realise it himself yet, I think your son could play a very important role in SHIELD's future, _if_ he allows himself to commit to it."

"His mother and I always tried to keep everything about SHIELD as far away from Lance as possible. To think that he actually became an agent himself now…", he trailed off, obviously still trying to wrap his head around the idea, but Bobbi quickly replied with a small shrug.

"Well, technically he isn't an agent yet. At the moment he's working for SHIELD as a private military contractor."

"You mean he's a mercenary?", the scientist clarified with a frown, causing the agent to grimace slightly.

"Yes, but Lance doesn't really like the term, so I've started to humour him. Why, is this a problem?"

"Not for me, no," the former agent replied, "I've never had an issue with mercenaries. I've worked with several very skilled and absolutely trustworthy ones in my active days, but Katharine, she really detested them. Apparently a group of mercs almost got her killed during an operation before we met and that distrust never went away again."

Slightly startled by this revelation, Bobbi looked at the man in front of her in surprise, her eyebrows raised visibly, before she collected herself again.

"I guess this is actually pretty obvious, but that is probably not something you should bring up when you talk to Lance again. I'm sure he would love to hear more about his mother and what kind of agent she was, even though he has a questionable way of showing it, just not that particular part."

"No, I wouldn't think so," Dr. Hunter agreed, staring into his almost empty glass thoughtfully, as if he was hoping to find some advice on how to handle his son on the bottom of it. As he looked back up again after a few moments, he noticed the conflicted expression on Bobbi's face, as if she was dying to say something else, but was holding herself back for some reason. But as the scientist was already getting tired of all the arguments, he encouraged her to speak her mind.

"I can see that you want to ask me something, Barbara, so go ahead. I mean, we're practically family, aren't we, even though we barely knew about the others existence," he pointed out, finishing his drink at the thought.

"It's just 'Bobbi', but that's actually a part of what I wanted to ask you about. You're right, Lance never really mentioned you while we were together and the few times the topic of his parents did come up, it was obvious that he didn't want to discuss it. And as I knew that his mother was dead, I didn't want to pry, either, so we never actually talked about you. But going by what he told me over the last few days and by what I've seen so far, I know that there's still a lot of very deep seated resentment between you, so why-"

"Why haven't we just been honest with him? Why all the lies and secrets?"

Bobbi simply nodded in reply, causing Dr. Hunter to lean forward and rub the back of his neck with one hand, a familiar gesture she had seen his son do countless times before. His expression grim, the former agent sighed heavily before he finally answered, at first only looking at the ground instead of the woman sitting opposite from him.

"When Lance was little, Katharine and I talked a lot about what we would tell him once he became older, if we should just admit to him that we were working for SHIELD or stick to our usual cover story, that we were working for a company that required us to travel a lot, but in the end we realised that even if we told him the truth, it would never be enough. It couldn't be," he elaborated, his voice sad, but also collected as he obviously still stood to his decision. "Because for each of his questions we would have been able to answer, there would have been ten, twenty more to which the answers would have been classified. And so we ultimately decided rather not to tell him anything at all then. You're an agent yourself, and I take it you've been for a while, so you know how it is. Of course we want to be honest with the people we love, but in this business we simply don't always get to do that."

A brief flicker of sadness and regret passed over Bobbi's features at his words, before she managed to put up an unfazed expression again, but then she nevertheless reached out and took the glass of Scotch still standing in front of her and downed its content in one gulp, setting it down again forcefully.

"As a matter of fact, I _do_ know how it is, because you just spared me the trouble of explaining why Lance and I ever got a divorce," she admitted with a weak smile, causing Dr. Hunter to give her a sympathetic look.

"Another drink?", the former agent offered, lifting the bottle up slightly. After looking at it for a moment, Bobbi sighed and finally nodded, holding her glass out to him in response.

"But just a sip," she instructed, knowing that she couldn't allow herself to let her guard down too much, despite the hazard-free nature of her assignment and the fact that they weren't in enemy territory. "To be honest, after today I'd rather be completely drunk on our flight back to the base, no matter if you come with us or not, but I don't think Lance would ever let me forget about that. And that's really not worth it, no matter how excellent this Scotch is."

**To be continued…**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Not a cliffhanger this time, but I hope you'll still stay tuned, and the next update will most likely be up sooner again.**


	9. The Good, The Bad

**A/N: It seems that these chapters are getting bigger and bigger at the moment, although I'm not really sure if I'll keep that up. With my main AoS story 'So Long' the chapters became a lot bigger as there was so much happening, but as that also often means a longer time between updates, I think I'll try to keep sticking to the shorter chapters instead.**

**Once again thank you so _so_ much for your reviews, which are always more than appreciated, even though I generally won't reply to them unless you have a specific question. Case in point:**

**atSasha:** I actually think Bobbi knows that Fury is alive, she just isn't going to reveal that to someone she just met, who's also not a part of SHIELD anymore, even if it's Hunter's dad. And no, neither Fury nor any of the Avengers are going to show up. It's just going to be mostly Hunter and Bobbi and the rest of the team of course.

**atClara:** As I'm pretty sick and tired of all the secrets and backstabbing going on in the show since the end of last season, I've chosen to believe – until proven wrong – that Bobbi, Hartley and Mack have just been making plans to throw a big party for Coulson, either for his birthday or his appointment as the new director, once her undercover stint in HYDRA was over. Now they lost Hartley the planning has become more difficult of course, and they have to keep it all hush-hush, because they plan to invite all the Avengers and finally reveal at the party that Coulson's still alive. Bobbi would love to tell Hunter, but she knows that he's terrible at keeping this kind of thing quiet, so she decided not to get him involved. (Now if somebody could please write a fanfiction about _**that**_, that would be the most amazing thing _ever_!)  
>But more seriously, although I'm really pissed at Bobbi for lying to Hunter again, especially after what she said to Simmons about being honest with Fitz, I don't think it's going to be a Ward-level kind of betrayal. She definitely has an agenda, and I knew Hunter was right when he called her out on that at the end of "The Things We Bury", but I think it'll be more like what May did last season when she was really working for Fury to keep an eye on Coulson.<p>

**Also,** **as I really want to put the next chapter up before the mid-season finale, you can almost definitely expect an update on Tuesday.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 9: The Good, The Bad, The Really Really Ugly<strong>

After Hunter had closed the door to the living room behind him, he made his way back down the corridor and into the kitchen, which was located towards the front of the building, its window overlooking the street.

Just like back when he had been living here, everything about the house, while beautiful, was also entirely ordinary, nothing indicating that a former high-ranking member of a secret government organisation was living here.

Hunter's heart was still pounding in his chest as he was only slowly calming down again, the argument he had just had with his father still having him rattled. And the fact that his ex-wife had basically kicked him out of his own, even though former living room wasn't making things any better, either.

Deep down he knew of course, that Bobbi had probably done the only sensible thing by asking him to leave, but he still couldn't help but feel like a child who had been sent out of the room so that the grown-ups could talk in private, and just the thought that his father and his ex were keeping things from him together now was leaving him frustrated and in desperate need of finding a way to unwind. Which was exactly why he was heading straight for the fridge now.

As much as he and his dad had the tendency to fight about anything, the one thing they had always easily agreed upon was the brand of beer they preferred and so Hunter actually grinned slightly as he opened the door of the fridge and found a few bottles of his favorite beer just waiting for him. He knew of course that he wasn't supposed to drink on a mission, but as far as he was concerned, Coulson could hardly expect him to spend the day with his ex-wife _and_ his father and not get at least slightly drunk.

The mercenary sighed in pleasure as he took the first large gulp of the cold beer while he was leaning against the counter next to the fridge, and only then did he actually take the time to look around for a moment.

The kitchen hadn't changed much since the last time he had been here, just like the rest of the house, but at a closer look he did recognise a few things that were different. There were fewer cooking utensils standing around, fewer plates on the shelf, and it all just added to the general feeling of emptiness that seemed to surround the entire building.

The house had already been extremely big for three people living inside it, but now that his father was staying here alone, Hunter suspected that only his sentimentality and the memory of his wife had kept him from selling it years ago. But as the mercenary kept looking around, he grinned slightly as he had to correct his observation, because his dad obviously wasn't entirely alone.

There was a bowl filled with dry cat food standing in the corner, but the grey tabby that his parents had bought a few years after he had moved out was nowhere in sight. But as it was an extremely lazy cat that preferred a warm and cosy place to running around outside, Hunter was almost sure that it had to be lying around somewhere in the house. And as he didn't really have anything better to do at the moment, he decided to go and look for it, so he went back into the hall and headed up the stairs to the second floor. But as soon as he was up there, the small pet was already forgotten, as everything around him seemed to be bringing back memories, and not exactly pleasant ones.

As his old bedroom had already been turned into a guest room the last time he had been here, there wasn't really anything to see there. Instead Hunter found himself drawn to another door down the corridor, and when he opened it hesitantly, the room in which his mother had spent her final weeks was right in front of him, looking almost exactly like it had done back then.

There was an almost empty desk standing underneath a large window at the opposite wall, a dresser with a TV on top of it beside it, and a single bed to his right with another window behind it, through which he could see out to the street in front of the house. A bedspread had been placed neatly over the covers, and there were a lamp and a few books on the nightstand, but nothing indicated that the room had been occupied in quite some time. In fact, going by the layer of dust that had settled on every surface in the room, Hunter was sure that it had been empty ever since his mother had died, and he somehow even suspected that his father hadn't set another foot through the door after he had cleaned up the room in the days following his wife's death.

Without the mercenary being able to stop it, his thoughts suddenly wandered back to those weeks, which had somehow made the months he had just spent in a war zone seem almost easy in comparison. When he had learned of his mother's bad condition, Hunter had literally just finished the last mission of his second tour in Iraq, and when he had returned to the base, his C.O. in the SAS had approached him, telling him that his father had been trying to reach him. He barely even remembered anything of what either of them had said on the phone, when he had called him back, except that his father had wanted him to know that his mother was very sick and that she wasn't going to get better.

The following twenty-four hours had passed him by in a blur while he had spent most of the time on one plane or another, returning to England and then making his way home for the first time in years. But in the end he had found himself in the exact same spot where he was standing now, in the doorway to his mother's room, not really knowing what to say or do.

Even before Hunter had found out about his parents' SHIELD history, he had always known that his mother had been as tough as they come. She had been extremely smart, not in a sciency way as his father, but very perceptive and clever, she had constantly made sure to keep herself in shape and even the way she had carried herself had proven what a remarkably strong woman she had been.

But when he had seen her again on that day, worn out by what he now knew had been years of suffering from the effects of a deadly poison, she had been nothing more than a shadow of her former self. While her mind had still been as sharp as ever, her body had already broken down completely, leaving her gaunt and pale, so unlike how she had used to be.

The mercenary shook his head, as if to chase away the ghosts of the past, sighing deeply as his eyes lingered on the neatly made bed for another moment.

"I just wish that you would have talked to me sooner," he whispered into the silence of the room, his heart heavy with regret. "And that I would have listened sooner." Because no matter how much he hated to admit it, Hunter knew that his father hadn't been entirely wrong with his earlier accusation, that he had turned his back on his family after graduating from school and that leaving home to join the army had been his way of turning the tables on his parents for all the years they had kept him in the dark about _their_ lives.

In the years between moving out and his mother's death, he had come home a grand total of three times, twice for her birthday and once for Christmas, but after that last visit had turned into a virtual disaster with one heated argument chasing the next, he had broken off pretty much any contact between them. He had rejected every attempt his mother had made to calm the waves between them and after a while she had simply stopped trying.

But when he had found out that she was going to die, and that she had been sick for a few years already with what he had then believed to be a heart condition, he hadn't just been grief-stricken, but also completely furious with both his parents for not telling him any sooner. He still vividly remembered the argument he had had with his father in the kitchen that night, both of them doing their best not to raise their voices in order not to wake the sleeping woman upstairs.

"_Six years! You've known she was going to die for _six years_?", he had asked his dad incredulously, unable to process what he had just heard._

"_No, we've known that she's sick for six years now," his father had explained, considerably calmer than the younger man, as he had had a lot more time to deal with what had been going to happen, "but at first we thought that your mother's condition would be curable. But over time, when no treatment showed any effect on her and she just kept getting worse, no matter how slowly, we realised that she would only have a couple of years left."_

"_And nobody thought that important enough to tell me?", Lance had wanted to know, the all too familiar anger he had felt so many times when his parents had been keeping things from him in the past, building up inside of him again._

"_You've made it more than clear that you didn't want anything to do with us," his father had replied, his voice bitter. "Your mother tried to reach out to you several times, in letters, over the phone, but what was she supposed to do, blackmail you into coming home? Because that is what telling you about her condition would have felt like to her."_

_The words had hit him incredibly hard, suddenly making Hunter realise what his stubbornness had cost him, and when he had finally replied, his eyes had been shining with unshed tears as the inevitability of what had been going to happen had finally registered._

"_She's my mum, you should have told me that she's going to die, that I'm going to lose her." By then the sadness and grief in his voice had completely overshadowed the accusation, and when his father had answered him in return, Hunter had realised that throwing around blame at this point would have been utterly useless, because they had all been forced into a horrible situation, that neither of them had wanted, but that they had all needed to deal with in some way or another._

"_Yes, I know, but she's also my wife, Lance, and I'm going to lose her, too. I spent years trying to find a cure for her, completely in vain, the least I could do was to respect her wishes." _

Sighing once more, Hunter finally stepped back out into the corridor, closing the door to his mother's old room behind him. Aside from the conversation he had had with Bobbi a couple of days ago, he hadn't thought much about his parents or any of this in years and it was painful to have all these memories brought back to the surface now. When he had gotten out of bed this morning, his childhood home had probably been about the last place in the world he had expected to end up in, and despite the hours the flight from the base had taken, he still hadn't really been prepared to face his father or the difficult history they shared.

But now that Hunter could remember vividly again how hard it had been to lose his mother, and not just for him, but for his father, too, he finally began to understand why the former agent was refusing to help them.

* * *

><p>Bobbi and Robert Hunter had been sitting in silence for a few moments, both of them nursing their drinks, lost in their own thoughts.<p>

After the former agent had just explained why he and his wife had kept their work as agents from their son, how they had been forced to choose between being honest and their duties to SHIELD, she couldn't help but wonder if the choice they had made had been worth it. If the choice she herself had made between her marriage and her life as an agent had been worth it. Because she knew that while she had never actually made the decision to leave Hunter in favour of SHIELD, the secrets regarding her work she had been keeping from him during their relationship had been one of the main factors why it hadn't been able to last.

But as Dr. Hunter now set his glass back down on the table and continued opening up to her, Bobbi snapped back to attention, looking at the scientist sitting opposite from her interestedly.

"When Katharine's condition became worse and we realised that she wouldn't have long, I knew that she wanted to tell Lance the truth, that we had been agents of SHIELD, and I actually asked her not to. Just because we had already left the agency didn't mean that we were allowed to talk freely about it, but I wasn't really angry when she did it anyway, because of course I could understand why.

Lies are a special kind of poison, they taint our relationships and even though Katharine knew that it was hardly enough to make up for all the stories we had told our son over the years and for all the things we hadn't told him, she just didn't want to take this particular secret to her grave."

The former agent fell silent for a moment, but as Bobbi knew that this topic couldn't be easy to talk about for him, she remained quiet, giving him the time he needed to continue.

"But obviously, once his mother was gone, Lance came to me looking for answers. Only that I simply couldn't give him any. But apparently, by turning him down that day, in a way I actually did him a favour," Dr. Hunter finished with a slight smile, causing Bobbi to look back at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?", she asked, frowning.

"It's been about five years since the last time I saw my son, and back then he was completely furious with me, because I still wouldn't tell him anything about SHIELD, even after everything his mother had confessed to him, but by now he has been married to a SHIELD agent and is even working there himself. That's not a coincidence, is it?" He was looking at the blond woman questioningly, his eyebrows raised slightly, but it wasn't her who ultimately answered him.

"No, it's not. As you wouldn't tell me anything, I went looking for SHIELD myself, and that's when I found Bobbi," Hunter's voice suddenly came from the doorway, where the mercenary was standing now, looking at the only two members of his family he had left.

"Hunter!" The blond agent was obviously worried that her ex had come back to continue right where he had left off, and that he was going to start another argument with his father any second now, but as he could anticipate her concern, he gave her a soft smile as he headed over to her to sit on the couch next to her.

"Don't worry, love, I'm not here to pick another fight." And once he had taken a seat and set his beer bottle down on the coffee table, noting the two whiskey glasses with a smirk, Hunter continued, looking at his father again this time.

"I've been thinking about what happened between us back then, and honestly, that you didn't want to tell me about your work, it doesn't even matter anymore. Because by now I've gotten a good long look at SHIELD, and I've seen it all, the good, the bad, the really really ugly, and despite all of that I'm still here. You may have started me down this road without wanting to or even realising that you were doing it, but that Bobbi and I got married, or that I'm still with SHIELD right now has nothing to do with you. I chose this life for myself, and I guess in a way I can even understand why you did, too," he finished with a surprisingly content expression on his face, glancing over at Bobbi, who was looking back at him with appreciation.

But as much as his father obviously liked his sudden change of heart, he couldn't help but wonder if there was something else behind it.

"I'm glad to hear that, Lance, and I really hope you know that I want you to be happy, but if you're going to ask me again to come back with you to SHIELD-"

"I know why you don't want to come," the mercenary now announced, clearly startling both his father and Bobbi.

"And why is that?", Dr. Hunter asked warily, scrutinising his son.

"Because of what happened to Mum. You tried to save her for years, but you couldn't, you had to watch her die, and now you think it'll just happen all over again. So you'd rather not try at all." The silence that followed this observation stretched on for almost a minute, as the former agent just kept looking at his son as if he hadn't been able to see him properly before.

Ever since the countless times he had disappointed Lance as a child, their relationship had been difficult to say the least, sometimes hurtful even, and especially since the young man had moved out to join the military, they both had developed the tendency not to be able to think clearly when they were talking to each other. And even though he didn't really understand what had caused this sudden change in his son, the former agent knew that this was without a doubt the most mature and sincere he had ever seen him and he suddenly realised that if there had ever been a chance for them to fix things between them it was now. But he also knew that the honesty that was required for that on his part, could also break them apart for good.

"You're right," the scientist finally admitted, nodding, "I have seen firsthand how much pain and suffering this poison can cause, I don't need to see it again. But there's also something else," he announced ominously, causing both Bobbi and Hunter to glance at each other sceptically. But before either of them had the chance to say anything, he continued.

"You know, when I saw on the news last year what had happened in Washington, that the Triskelion had been destroyed and that it had been revealed that HYDRA had been infiltrating SHIELD since its beginnings, for a while I couldn't even believe it. I've spent decades of my life working for SHIELD, I never questioned my orders, but now I can't stop wondering just how many times I've actually been doing HYDRA's work instead when I went out on a mission."

As they both still didn't know where this was going, Bobbi tried to be helpful by offering her own perspective on what had happened, as she could easily understand how much the former agent must have been feeling betrayed by his own agency.

"Honestly, I try not to think about it too much," she admitted with a sad expression, even though she was unsure how any of this was connected to their current assignment. "After everything went down, I spent a few months undercover inside HYDRA to get a closer look at their structure and to protect one of our agents, but to see what they were doing there, the things they were planning… it was… frightening to say the least. But what does that have to do with you not wanting to come with us? There is no trace of HYDRA left within SHIELD, and if anything, Coulson is trying to undo the damage they have done in the past."

"I know," Dr. Hunter agreed freely. "That's why I will give you all my research, and trust me, it will be very helpful, but after what happened the last time, I vowed to myself that I would never work for SHIELD or any other secret agency ever again."

"Because of what happened to Mum?", Hunter asked, only for his father to shake his head immediately.

"No, because of what I did, trying to safe her." As the scientist was met with a pair of uncomprehending expressions, he sighed heavily, well aware of the magnitude of what he was going to reveal now.

"I don't need to see footage of HYDRA's attack last night to know exactly how dangerous the poison is you are up against. It was designed to kill not just quickly, but also as painfully as possible, and it sickens me to know that it is out there again. My notes contain everything your scientists will have to know to fight it, they won't need my help. Actually, I'm not sure Phil would even want it if he knew the truth," he finished with a regretful look on his face, finally prompting his son to demand a clear answer.

"What are you talking about, and how the bloody hell do you even know all that?", Hunter burst out, his face slightly paler than before after everything his father had just said.

As their eyes met, the mercenary was suddenly absolutely certain that he would rather not hear the answer to his question after all, but now it was too late to back down again.

"I know all these things about the poison, because it's my own creation, Lance. Because I'm the one who made it."

**To be continued…**


	10. Another Chance

**A/N: Ok, so this chapter was actually turning out to be about twice this length, and even though I wanted to publish this and what's going to happen next in one go, I finally decided to post it in two parts after all. But the second part is almost done, so I'll put it up tomorrow before I watch the new episode. (I hope it's going to be as awesome as I think it will be, but no spoilers please!) Also, sorry for all the info dumping in this part. ;)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 10: Another Chance<strong>

"_I know all these things about the poison, because it's my own creation, Lance. Because I'm the one who made it."_

At first, Hunter just stared at his father, utterly dumbfounded by this revelation, his mouth opening slightly, but without any sound coming out of it. He knew of course, that the older man was more than capable enough in his field to design something as deadly as the poison HYDRA was now using, that was why they had come to recruit his help after all, but the mere notion that he could actually be responsible for it was completely unthinkable. Or at least it had been until a few seconds ago.

"You… you what?", the mercenary now asked slowly, his mind still refusing to believe what his father had just told him. "What do you mean, you _made_ it? How… why…" he began, only to break off and start over. "We're talking about the stuff that killed Mum here, so how could you have been the one who made it?", he wanted to know, his anger rising.

But Robert Hunter immediately shook his head, obviously appalled by the mere idea of what his son was suggesting.

"No, I swear to you that I had nothing to do with what was done to your mother. That poison was naturally occurring and a lot less… effective compared to the one now in HYDRA's possession. That's the one I created."

Hunter looked at his father in silence for a few seconds, his expression disillusioned, but strangely accepting as he leaned back against the backrest of the couch.

"So you really _were_ HYDRA, or probably you even still are; I hear it's not something you retire from that easily," he pointed out, causing the man in front of him to lean forward in his seat as if he was trying to reach his son not just with his words.

"No, Lance, you don't understand. Back then there _was_ no HYDRA, or at least none that anyone knew off, there was only SHIELD. You said you've seen all the sides of the agency by now, and I'll admit that I knew that this project was definitely on the 'really, really ugly' side, but… but I just couldn't say no," he finished, his voice sounding completely defeated. But the younger man wasn't ready to let off just yet.

"And what exactly do you mean, when you say 'you couldn't say no'? It was a SHIELD operation, right, so I doubt they forced you to comply." Shaking his head, the scientist shrugged briefly, knowing how difficult it had to be for his son to understand his actions.

"No, nobody forced me, but as cliché as it sounds, they simply made me an offer that was too good to refuse."

"Alright, I think I have to stop you right there," Bobbi suddenly chimed in, her supportive and almost calming attitude from before gone and replaced by the fierce agent persona she adopted when needed. "Because to me it sounds like you're just admitting to not only creating a deadly biochemical weapon that already caused thirty-six deaths – that we know off – but also to withholding that and other possibly crucial information from us for the last hour."

His mouth slightly agape in surprise, Hunter turned to his ex-wife, trying to reason with her.

"Bobbi, you think this is really necessary? Maybe we could handle this without the thumbscrews, alright?" But the agent just looked back at him in slight confusion, her brow furrowed.

"Hunter, your father had the intel we need this entire time, and instead of admitting it from the start, he had us jumping through hoops instead," she replied angrily, clearly upset that she had not only not realised that the former agent had been keeping something from them, but also that she had allowed herself to relax around him and had even in a way begun to like him.

But the scientist obviously wasn't willing to accept this accusation and answered her immediately, his voice tense.

"I already offered you my research data, so you could have been on your way again within minutes after you got here, but you just had to insist that I come with you, even though I told you that that is not going to happen."

"To be honest, _before_ we were just asking politely, but I think now I might _actually_ have to insist," Bobbi replied back, the threat hanging in the air for a moment, before Lance spoke up again, obviously more than uncomfortable with having to play the mediator between his ex and his father this time.

"Alright, so how about we all take a deep breath right now?", he echoed the female agent's words from earlier. "Bobbi, we're not forcing my father to go anywhere against his will, is that clear? And Dad, you know that this all sounds really, really bad, don't you?", the mercenary asked, waiting in turn for both of them to nod in reply before continuing. "We're not unreasonable," he declared, glancing at Bobbi, "but you have to tell us what happened."

Sighing, Dr. Hunter filled another small amount of the Scotch still standing on the table into his glass, and then just held it in his hand, watching the ember liquid thoughtfully.

"What do you want to know?", he finally asked quietly, Bobbi being the first to reply.

"Everything," she simply announced, her expression still reproachful.

"How about you start with what happened to Mum. I just know that she was poisoned, but Coulson didn't say anything else, so what happened?", Hunter asked, completely ignoring his ex-wife's attitude now as he clenched his fist without realising, bracing himself for what he was about to hear.

"Alright, I guess it's just fair that you know everything now. SHIELD's secrets are all in the wind anyway, at least the ones I know." The scientist took a deep breath and a sip from his drink, before putting it back down on the table and focusing on his son again.

"As I said before, the poison that was used against your mother was a naturally occurring one, it was the venom of a rare, almost extinct South American snake. About three years after you had moved out, your mother and I were on a mission in Ecuador, after we had received intel about an 0-8-4 that had been discovered there and that a local drug lord was trying to sell on the black market. Katharine had a pre-existing cover as an arms dealer which we used to get her access to the object, and at first everything went perfectly fine.

The initial contact had been established, and the plan was that as soon as Katharine had verified the authenticity of the 0-8-4, she and the two agents, who were posing as her bodyguards were going to extract it, a team standing ready as backup. I was her handler during the mission and part of the extraction team, but none of us had any idea that Katharine had already been made before she had even entered the compound." He broke off at this for a moment, closing his eyes tightly, as he was obviously still filled with guilt and regret over the course of that mission, even after all these years.

As the former agent continued, he was obviously making sure to be as brief and objective as possible, not wanting his own involvement in the operation to cloud his judgement.

"The drug lord, a man named Aguirre, had poisoned her drink, using the venom of a rare snake that was apparently only found on his territory, and that was known for killing slowly and painfully. Then he shot the other two agents, obviously under the impression that they were her only backup. He never saw our team coming as we moved in, but even though we took him and his men out easily, at first I thought that we were already too late to save Katharine.

She was in the throws of a terrible seizure when I found her, out of her mind with pain, and as I didn't know exactly what substance had been used to poison her, I could take only general detoxification measures. I gave her all the medication I could, made her throw up to prevent any more of the poison from getting into her blood stream and managed to stabilise her enough so we could fly her out to the nearest SHIELD facility where I and several doctors continued her treatment."

At this point, the scientist got up from his seat, obviously unable to face his son directly as he was forcing himself to relive his wife's fate once more. He stepped in front of the large window leading out into the garden, his expression grim.

"Those were two of the longest days of my life, but then we thought we'd actually done it. The poison seemed to be out of her system completely, her vital signs were improving again and once she woke up, I was sure your mother would be fine. The venom would have been deadly if I hadn't reached her as quickly as I had, but at least for a few weeks, we thought we had gotten away with nothing more than a scare.

But that was when the seizures started. It was almost three weeks after the initial incident, while Katharine was preparing for her next mission, when she suddenly collapsed in pain and started convulsing like she had done when she had first been poisoned.

The drugs usually used against seizures barely showed any effect on her either, meaning that the doctors at SHIELD couldn't do much to help her and that the stress on her body was immense every time she had an attack." And after a second's hesitation he added, "that was also what killed her in the end, a heart condition caused by the constant strain. But off course nobody was thinking that far ahead at first, when we started testing your mother again to find out what was happening to her.

As it turned out, the snake venom had caused considerable damage to her brain, even though it wasn't affecting her general mental capacities and had therefore been hard to detect. And it seemed as if the poison had even attached itself to the damaged area, stopping it from healing on its own over time."

So far, Hunter had just been sitting quietly, listening to his father's explanations, but now as he finally began to understand what had really happened to his mother, he couldn't help but feel even more horrified by what the older man had admitted earlier.

"Alright, so you tried to save mum, I get that, but you were right there with her, seeing firsthand what that poison was doing to her, so how exactly did that make you want to create an even deadlier version of it?" But the scientist shook his head, his tone exasperated as he replied.

"I never wanted to, but it wasn't that easy," he argued, Bobbi being the one who answered him this time.

"Then why don't you go ahead and explain it to us, because the way I see it, you took something completely horrible and you actually managed to make it worse."

The scientist nodded briefly, knowing that if he didn't want his son to despise him for the rest of his life, he better had to make a good case for himself.

"Well, as I said, I had found out what was causing Katharine's condition, her repeated seizures, and that she wasn't going to get better on her own, so I did everything I could to save her. I had the full support of my C.O. and the rest of my superiors, even Director Fury and so I began working day and night on a cure, all of SHIELD's resources and as many scientists as I needed at my disposal, but even with all of that, I still didn't accomplish anything. The few times I actually thought we had finally found a cure, it was always just a week or two later until Katharine had another seizure and then it was back to square one again.

The first setbacks didn't really discourage us, and everyone remained optimistic, but after a while, when we still hadn't produced any kind of breakthrough, my superiors started assigning my team to other projects again, while I kept working with what I had left. I knew they were doing the only reasonable thing, as they couldn't keep focusing so many agents on helping just one person, even if she was a part of SHIELD, but I couldn't stop. I refused to take on any other cases, both when I was first asked politely and even when it was turned into an order. I could have taken my pick, I could have gone out into the field again or kept working in the lab, the only condition had been to stop investing all my time into trying to find a cure for Katharine, which was considered hopeless at that point."

"But you didn't," Lance continued for him, knowing his father well enough to be absolutely certain that he would have never given up on his wife, despite all the things he had found out about him today.

"No, I didn't," the former agent agreed, smiling slightly as he glanced over at his son. "Instead I decided to quit SHIELD, hoping to find work at another lab that would allow me to continue my research at least on the side. Katharine had already made it clear that she didn't want to stay if her only option was to work in administration and as her condition made anything else impossible, we both left the agency. Or at least that was the plan," he admitted, falling silent once more and giving Bobbi the opportunity to speak up again.

"That was when you were recruited into HYDRA, wasn't it?", she asked, her voice a lot less sympathetic than that of her ex-husband before.

"If you want to put it that way, yes, I guess so." He sat down in his armchair once again, downing the rest of his drink in one gulp and then continued, his eyes avoiding both his son and his ex-daughter-in-law.

"It was on my last day, in fact, right as I was busy cleaning out my desk at the Hub, when an agent I didn't even know approached me. His name was Hawkins and he said he was from SHIELD's special weapons division and that it was his job to search for basically any material or substance that could be weaponised and used in our operations.

Apparently the snake venom that was slowly killing my wife had caught his attention and as I had done by far the most research on it, he wanted my help to synthesise and "improve" it, as he called it. I knew of course that SHIELD had projects like that running as well, in addition to our more clean-cut operations, but I had no interest in developing a weapon, especially not this one, so I was already about to turn him down, when he went into the details of his offer.

I would get a team of first class scientists to work with, but for security reasons, the actual work was supposed to take place outside of any main SHIELD facilities. And as they hadn't decided on a location yet, he even offered me to install the lab here in the city, allowing me to be home with Katharine when I wasn't at work. But the best part was that I would be allowed to use thirty percent of our time and resources to keep working on a cure for the original poison." The former agent shook his head absentmindedly, reprimanding himself for the easiness with which he had been persuaded to work on something so against everything he had ever fought for. But at the same time, he was well aware that under the same circumstances, he would probably make the same decision all over again.

"I knew that even if I found another lab that would allow me to do my own research there, I would never get an opportunity like this. Some more time with a good team and the proper resources, I thought that was all I needed, and so in the end I said yes." The scientist finally fell silent, having finished his story. He wasn't really sure if he felt more exhausted, after reliving all of these memories, or relieved after finally admitting the whole truth to his son, something he had never thought he would do. But now, for better or worse, everything was out in the open, and he knew that he had to face the fallout of his actions.

Lance was looking at him for several long moments, while Bobbi remained quiet, knowing that in this case it was his turn to say something first. But as he obviously wasn't able to sit still any longer, just as his father earlier, the mercenary now stood up, taking his beer with him and beginning to pace the room.

"So, after pretty much everyone in SHIELD already told you to stop your research, somebody from special weapons just comes along and makes you such an offer to create a deadly poison for them, basically even giving you your own lab, which just so happens to not be in any supervised facility, and that didn't raise any flags?", he asked incredulously, barely looking at the scientist, who immediately answered him, completely calm.

"I'm not an idiot, Lance, of course that raised a million flags, but-"

"But you didn't care," the younger man finished his sentence for him, stopping in his tracks now, staring angrily at his father.

A tense silence followed these words, stretching out until it became almost unbearable.

"No, I didn't," Robert Hunter finally confessed. "Obviously I didn't know about HYDRA back then, but honestly, I can't even say if that would have made a difference. They were offering me another chance to save the love of my life, and I knew it was the best I would ever get, so I took it."

**To be continued…**


	11. Be On Your Way

**A/N: Ok guys, you're actually scaring me here lol, but **atClara**, I guess for now I still have to take your word for it.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 11: Be On Your Way<strong>

"_Obviously I didn't know about HYDRA back then, but honestly, I can't even say if that would have made a difference. They were offering me another chance to save the love of my life, and I knew it was the best I would ever get, so I took it."_

The room went silent once more after this confession, but this time the expression on Hunter's face as he kept watching his father wasn't angry or reproachful as before. Instead he glanced over at Bobbi briefly, the look in his eyes becoming a lot softer, almost understanding.

The images of the dying soldiers he had seen just a few hours ago were still etched into his memory all too clearly and he felt sick at the thought that his own father was at least in part responsible for that, but he also couldn't deny the fact that he was easily able to understand his reason for doing what he had done. After all, he himself had shot at his own team and risked countless civilians when he had tried to kill Carl Creel in order to avenge Hartley and Idaho, he couldn't even begin to imagine the things he would be willing to do if it meant saving Bobbi.

Not that she would ever forgive him for doing something as extreme as his father had done, of course, which now prompted his next question.

"What about Mum, did she know?", he asked, wondering if he had misjudged both of his parents so profoundly.

"What kind of work I was really doing? No, she had no idea," the scientist replied, calming at least one of his son's worries. "As far as everyone on the outside was concerned, I had started working at a private lab after leaving SHIELD, doing research for industrial use. She knew that I was still looking for a cure, but if she had even suspected the deal I had made for that, she would have probably killed me herself." He smiled slightly to himself at this, vividly remembering his wife's unshakable conviction.

"But to tell you the truth," Dr. Hunter now continued, his expression darkening again, "before you two came here today, I wasn't even sure if the poison I created still existed."

"And why is that?", Bobbi asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Because there was a fire in the building where we had our lab not even a week before the end of the project. In a way, Katharine's condition even saved my life that day, because I had been supposed to be there and supervise a final round of testing, but when I was about to leave in the morning, she had a particularly severe attack and I was almost two hours late when I finally got to the city. By then the entire building where we had our lab was in flames and the fire brigade wasn't expecting to salvage much," the scientist explained, still astounded over the luck he had had all those years ago.

"And do you think it was arson?", Hunter asked, leaning with his arms on the backrest of the couch right behind Bobbi now.

"Officially there had been a gas leak in the lab on the floor directly below ours, and I don't have any prove that says otherwise, but if you want just my opinion, then yes, it was. Several members of my team were killed in the fire and going by what Agent Hawkins told me during a brief meeting we had a few days later, most of the research and every sample of the poison had been destroyed. He said that for various reasons, SHIELD wasn't interested in reviving the project at the moment, but that they wouldn't forget about me if they ever changed their mind."

"You told us that you have detailed notes about all of your research, didn't he want to have those?", Bobbi wondered, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she continued to be sceptical about every single word that came out of the former agent's mouth.

"He probably would have, had he known that they existed," Dr. Hunter replied, a small grin on his lips. "We weren't allowed to take any data about the poison out of the lab, but I was able to hide the information between my files on Katharine's case, which they couldn't forbid me to take home. As I said before, the entire project was suspicious enough to raise about a million flags, so I felt that it was better to keep a little backup file, just in case."

"Alright, good thinking," his son agreed, standing up straight again and taking another sip from his beer, emptying the bottle. "Now we're going to need everything you have on this, every file, every flip-chart, or whatever you science people like to work with and then Bobbi is right, we really have to get going," he announced, stepping next to the table to set the bottle down.

"I'll get you all my notes, as I promised, but my decision hasn't changed, Lance. I'm not a part of SHIELD anymore and-"

"Of course you are", the mercenary interrupted him, startling not just his father, but Bobbi as well with his resoluteness. "You know, when I started working for SHIELD, at first it was just an operation here and there, nothing big, and the only thing I really cared about was that the money was good. Even when I joined Coulson's team, I was still convinced that SHIELD was just a job, means to an end, but by now I think I figured out that for some people, maybe even for me, I don't know, it's more than that. It's a life," he finished, glancing over at his ex-wife briefly, who looked back at him with a faint smile.

After studying his son for a moment, Dr. Hunter sighed heavily, something inside of him still struggling against the idea of working for SHIELD again, even this once and facing one of his former friends from his days in the agency.

"I can't help you any more than my research notes can. I keep them upstairs. I'll get them for you and then you really should be on your way," he simply declared, before getting up from his seat and heading out into the hallway without giving anyone the chance to reply. But Hunter obviously wasn't willing to accept his father's decision, and after he had stared after him for a few seconds, utterly speechless, his expression hardened once again and he started to follow him determinedly, before the older man had even made it up the stairs.

"Just give me a moment, alright, I'll handle this," he called back to Bobbi, not even waiting for a reply as he headed up to the second floor now, too, knowing instinctively that his father must have hidden the research data somewhere in his mother's old room.

"And you really think this is it? That you can just hand me a bunch of files and your part in this is done?", he all but shouted as he saw the older man heading through the door. He followed him until he was standing right in the doorway, glaring at the scientist's back angrily. "Thirty-six people died just last night and who knows how many more HYDRA secretly killed over the years with the poison _you_ created," Hunter exclaimed furiously, finally prompting his father to turn around to him.

"A lot, I would guess. It's ironic in a way, isn't it? All this time, all I wanted to do was to find a cure, but I failed over and over again, but the moment someone asked me to turn this poison into a weapon, something that could cause horrible agony and death, I excelled at it," he pointed out with a humourless chuckle.

Scrutinising the former agent for a moment, and seeing how heavily this whole situation seemed to be weighing down on him, Hunter took a deep breath and tried to take a more understanding approach this time as he continued.

"Well, maybe now's your chance to try again," he suggested, hoping that his dad would finally realise that it was in his own interest to come back to SHIELD. But it quickly became obvious that he wasn't there yet, when he continued.

"Don't you think it's a little late for that? Once you tell Phil what I did, he'll be glad you left me behind," the former agent argued, prompting his son to look back at him in confusion.

"Honestly, I think it's been way too long since you met the guy, because that sounds nothing like the Phil Coulson I'm working for. Even though he can be kind of an arsehole sometimes, that man's all about giving second chances and once you tell him what you just told Bobbi and me, I know he'll understand it." But as the older man was still hesitating, the mercenary was quickly getting frustrated again, and so he continued in a much harsher tone.

"But yeah, of course it's a lot easier to hide out here than to come back with us and face what you've done. But whether you want to deal with it or not, all those people HYDRA killed, that blood is on _your_ hands, too!" A part of him regretted the words as soon as they had left his mouth, but Hunter was simply too stubborn right now to apologise. Instead he watched the hurt expression that briefly flickered over his father's face with a guilty conscience, before the scientist turned his back on him for a moment and headed to the desk at the opposite wall.

There he opened one of the drawers and picked up a slim folder at which he looked for a few seconds in silence, his voice tense as he finally replied to his son's outburst.

"Don't you think I know that, Lance?", he asked, facing the younger man again, genuine remorse in his eyes. "I never wanted-", he began, but suddenly broke off abruptly, a pained noise escaping his throat and a startled expression on his face as the folder slipped from his fingers, cluttering to the floor.

Hunter's eyes widened in shock as the scene in front of him unfolded, without his brain being able to process any of it. There had been the distinctive sound of glass breaking coming from his right, telling him that something had smashed through the window to the street, and a few wet drops had hit his face, but he still couldn't connect any of it to the sight in front of him, of his father suddenly clutching at his neck or the frightening amount of blood that was now running down the front of his shirt.

It was obvious that neither of the two men had completely grasped what was happening, but as the scientist's knees all of a sudden gave out underneath him, his son at least snapped out of his initial stupor to catch him before he could hit the floor.

"Dad!", he screamed loudly in a horrified voice he barely recognised himself, but even though he managed to reach his father quickly, he could barely slow down his fall, which ended in a painful impact on the ground. Hunter ended up kneeling next to him, all his instincts and his experience forgotten as he looked down at the man he had felt like strangling only moments ago, but whose life now was the only thing that mattered to him.

"Dad!", he repeated desperately, though softer than before, bringing his hands down on the jagged wound on his father's neck in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Hunter's training and his years of combat experience were shouting at him, telling him that, going by the sickening amount of blood he had already lost, his father's carotid artery must have been shredded, meaning that there was absolutely nothing he could do for him and that he was already dead, even though he was still looking up at him, shock and fear in his eyes.

"Lance…", Robert Hunter now choked out, hardly intelligible, his strength fading quickly, his skin already deathly pale from the loss of blood.

"Hold on, Dad, I've got you, it's going to be alright," the mercenary uttered in return, barely realising what he was saying. "Just… just hold on!"

"Lance… the dra…", the former agent started again, only for his son to shake his head, tears in his eyes.

"Just… don't talk, alright? Your neck looks really bad, I don't want you to make it worse." The look in his father's eyes was telling him with absolute certainty that there was no way he could possibly make his injury any worse than it already was, but as he didn't have the strength to say any of this out loud, he just focused on trying to get out at least a few more words.

"The… the dra… drawer. Don't let them… get…" But as Dr. Hunter now broke off again, it wasn't just because of his lack of strength. This time he had completely stopped moving, his mouth still slightly agape and his eyes staring up at his son blindly.

"No!", the younger man uttered desperately, still not thinking clearly as he shook the former agent, searching his face for any sign of life, just as Bobbi came running down the corridor, only to stop dead in her tracks in the doorway.

"Hunter!", she shouted at him, trying to get her ex-husband's attention as she took in the situation in a single glance. But as he wasn't reacting to her, and didn't even show any sign that he was aware of her presence, the blond agent practically lunged forward, pulling the mercenary away from his father's body, and bringing them both against the side of the bed, which was now protecting them from sight from the front window, just as a bullet slammed into the wall right where Hunter's head had been a second ago.

After taking a moment to make sure that the man beside her was uninjured, Bobbi activated her earpiece, her voice tense, but still in control.

"Trip, please tell me you're there. We need you here, right now!"

"Of course I'm here, what happened?", the agent asked, biting back any joking remark he might have wanted to make at hearing the urgency in his team mate's voice.

"We're under fire and we need an extraction _now_. We're on the second floor and as far as I can tell, the shots are coming from the house across the street. But I bet, whoever this is, they'll have a team ready to take us out up close any minute, so you'll have to hurry!", she ordered, her eyes trained on the doorway, as she was trying to listen for any movement inside the house.

"I'm taking off now, just hold tight, I'll be there in a few seconds," Trip promised before he went silent, focusing on the controls of the Quinjet.

Doing her best to keep her composure, despite the fact that her dead ex-father-in-law was lying only a few feet away from her, Bobbi took a deep breath and pulled out the gun she had been carrying in a holster concealed under her jacket, once more relieved that she had the iron rule never to go unarmed on a mission, no matter how mundane it seemed. And as her usual weapon of choice, her batons had been out of the question, she had had to pick between a knife and a gun, and was of course glad now to have picked the latter.

"Hunter, just stay in cover, okay? Trip's coming to get us out of here," she assured the mercenary, turning her head slightly to look at him, although she still wasn't sure that he even knew she was there. But then his brow furrowed almost unnoticeably and at least her words finally seemed to register with him.

"Trip…" he murmured, his eyes never leaving the unmoving body in front of him. "Trip… he's got medical training, right? I mean, that's good… that's good, isn't it?", the distraught mercenary asked, and then nodded, answering his own question. "Yeah, 'course it is. My… my dad, he needs… he needs a doctor."

Even though she could only guess how traumatising all of this had to be for her ex, Bobbi was caught completely off guard by his obvious denial, but before she had the chance to reply anything, Hunter continued, looking directly at her this time.

"Bobbi, we need to get him to a hospital," he pleaded with her, his voice urgent and desperate, his eyes filled with unshed tears.

Seeing him like this almost made the blond agent tear up herself, but she knew that she couldn't, that she had to hold it together for his sake.

"Hunter, listen to me, okay? Your father…" she began, only to stop herself and start over. "Your dad, he's gone and there's nothing we can do for him now, except make sure that at least we get out of here alive. I know this is hard, but please, you have to pull yourself together, alright?", she asked, but as she still wasn't sure if she had actually reached him, Bobbi laid one hand on the short-haired man's cheek gently but determinedly, making sure he was looking at her.

"Lance, please, I need you to do this for me. Just focus for two more minutes until we're out of here, because I can't lose you now. Can you do that?" She continued to look straight at him until the mercenary finally nodded, the haze that had seemed to be clouding his mind just moments ago lifting again, as he looked at her clearly for the first time since Bobbi had entered the room.

"Yeah, yeah sure, I can do that," he muttered, his eyes shifting back to his father's unmoving body, and the blood that had already formed a pool around his neck. Then he noticed that the folder his father had retrieved from the desk earlier was still lying next to the dead scientist, stained with blood, and Hunter's mind snapped back to the last thing he had said to him.

"The drawer," he muttered quietly to himself, attracting Bobbi's attention.

"What?", she asked, confused, but before she could react, the mercenary was already moving, getting out of the relative safety next to the bed.

"Cover me!", he quickly instructed, forcing the agent to turn around and start shooting out the window, while Hunter lunged for the desk at the wall opposite from the door, practically ripping the still open drawer that had earlier contained the folder out of it. Bobbi cursed under her breath at his reckless behaviour, but after she had fired two rounds almost blindly through the window, shattering the glass completely, she suddenly stopped, realising that they weren't going to hit anyone on the other side of the street, because there was something in the way, stopping them.

"Stop shooting at me, will you? If you break the cloaking, Mack's gonna be pissed," she could now hear Trip's voice coming over the earpiece, causing her to heave a sigh in relieve in response.

"I got you covered up here for now, but you gotta get out of there. Grab the target and then get to the back of the building. The garden looks just big enough for me to pick you up, I might smash a few flowerbeds and maybe a fence or two, but there's no way I'm letting you go out on that street." At first Bobbi wanted to tell Trip immediately that they had lost their target, Hunter's father, but as she looked at the mercenary, who was just barely clinging to his sanity right now, she couldn't bring herself to say it, not just yet at least.

"Alright, just give us another moment up here, then we'll head out the back," she told him, before focusing her attention back on Hunter once more, who was kneeling in front of the desk right now, looking frantically at several items lying on the ground, the content of the now empty drawer he had just pulled out.

"I asked you to focus, not to jump out of cover and right into the line of sight of whoever is out there!", the agent pointed out angrily, her fear for the mercenary's life making her forget any leniency she might have wanted to show him in light of what had just happened.

"'The drawer', that's what he said. There has to be something here, something important," he insisted, but was quickly disheartened as all the items he was looking at turned out to be just ordinary office supplies.

"What about this folder," Bobbi now asked, as she picked up the collection of files Hunter had already pulled out of the pool of blood.

"Yes, take it," he agreed, but without even lifting his eyes from the things he was looking at. "But there is something else here, there has to be. '_The drawer_. _Don't let them get'_, that was the last thing he said, so why is there nothing here?", he finally shouted furiously, throwing a pencil sharpener against the wall angrily.

Realising that Hunter was probably really onto something and that he definitely wasn't going to leave until he had found whatever it was his father had wanted him to find, Bobbi went over to him and knelt down opposite from her ex, glancing quickly at the items on the ground, her brow furrowing slightly.

"Okay, so you think that there's something hidden in the drawer, and considering who your father used to work for, you might be right, but why aren't you doing what he said?" And at Hunter's confused look, she elaborated.

"These things were all inside the drawer, but what if it's actually the drawer itself?" Going by his expression, the mercenary obviously wasn't sure if he should slap himself for his stupidity or kiss Bobbi for her quick thinking, but in the end he opted for neither and simply picked up the wooden drawer again, pushing and pulling at it until he really found a hidden compartment underneath the fake bottom. Inside of it was a small flash drive, taped down to not slide around, but just as Hunter had taken it and stuffed it into a pocket of his jacket, they could hear several footsteps coming from the ground floor, signalling that they weren't alone in the house anymore.

"We need to go, now!", Bobbi announced determinedly, but as Hunter's eyes were fixated on the dead body on the floor next to them again, she knew that the two minutes she had asked him for were quickly coming to an end.

"Lance, I'm sorry, but we need to leave him. Come on," she instructed fiercely, but quietly enough not to give away their location, "I know your father would never forgive me if I'd let anything happen to you right now," she pointed out, pulling her ex-husband to his feet and out into the hallway.

But as, whoever was coming for them now, was almost at the stairs already, heading back downstairs the way they had come was out of the question. Instead, Bobbi dragged Hunter down the corridor and towards the back of the building, her eyes frantically searching for a way out.

"We need to get out into the garden behind the house, is there any way down from here?", she whispered, as the footsteps were coming up the stairs now. Nodding, Hunter pulled her towards the last door on the left, just as the first bullets started to fly past them, embedding themselves in the far wall. Bobbi glanced behind her to get at least a brief look at who was after them, and when she saw the all too familiar black combat gear and the masked faces of their attackers, she fired a few rounds back to buy them more time, before following her ex through the door of what turned out to be the master bedroom.

She quickly slammed the door close behind her and locked it, just as Hunter made his way to the large window to the back of the house, opening it.

"Is there maybe a way to get out of here without breaking any bones?," she asked, bewildered, even though she knew that a broken leg would still be preferable to the firing squad that was waiting for them back in the hallway.

"What, don't you trust me?", Hunter asked in return, but instead of the playful grin that would have usually been plastered on his face right now, there was nothing more than a brief quirk of his lips, before he suddenly jumped out of the window without hesitation, causing Bobbi to almost lunge forward, visibly worried about him. But as she looked outside, she realised that there was a solid canopy over the back porch which had stopped his fall, allowing her to follow her ex easily now, right when a series of bullets took out the lock on the door.

As she and Hunter finally found themselves on the ground, both safe and sound, Bobbi looked up into the sky, searching for a sign of their rescue.

"Trip, where are you?", she asked, unable to keep the tension out of her voice, but not even a second later, the Quinjet suddenly uncloaked, still several meters above them, but descending quickly.

"Hold your horses, girl, I'm right here. I'm gonna drop the ramp now, so make sure to get in as soon as I'm on the ground, alright?", he asked light-heartedly, still in the dark about the devastating turn their mission had taken.

"Copy that," Bobbi replied, still holding her gun tightly, while she was clutching the folder with her other hand, trying not to think about the fact that it was covered in Robert Hunter's blood. She glanced behind her, back to the house several times in the mere seconds it took for Trip to land the jet, but the squat that had been attacking them either hadn't made it back down from the second floor yet, or they simply didn't want to try their luck against the massive jet landing behind the house now.

Either way, there was no more gunfire as she and Hunter hurried towards the ramp and inside the Quinjet, where Bobbi immediately headed towards Trip to give him instructions.

"Close the ramp and get us out of here right now! That was a HYDRA team that was just trying to shoot us, I recognised their tactical outfits, and I don't want to stay and find out if they brought any heavier equipment."

But as soon as he had flipped the switch that caused the ramp to close behind them, Trip turned around in his seat to look at the rest of his team, his expression darkening instantly as he noticed their appearance and the fact that there was one person less present than he had expected.

"I can get us out of here in a second, don't worry, but what about Agent Hunter, why isn't he…", but he didn't need to finish the question, as the looks on both of his friends' faces were telling him everything he needed to know.

"Damn, I'm… I'm so sorry," he offered, not really knowing what else to say, but Bobbi just nodded briefly, too exhausted to really explain anything yet.

"Just… get us back home, alright?"

"Sure," Trip agreed, before turning back around and focusing on the jet's controls once more, knowing that he couldn't do anything else at the moment, anyway.

Finally sure that they were safe now, that she had done everything she could to get both herself and Hunter out of this mission alive, Bobbi sighed and closed her eyes briefly, already feeling the events of the last few minutes catching up with her. She tossed the folder she had still been holding onto one of the seats and holstered her weapon again, before finally turning around, her breath catching in her throat as her eyes fell on Hunter.

The mercenary was still standing in the back of the jet, where he had most likely simply stopped moving, the moment he had gotten himself to safety. The look on his face was just as lost as when she had found him kneeling over his dead father, if not even more so, and only now did she really register the blood on his hands and the drops of it on his face, which must have sprayed on him when the older man had been shot.

Doing her best to hold back the tears in her eyes, Bobbi finally crossed the distance between them, and wrapped her arms around her ex tightly, pressing herself against him. She tried to come up with something to say, anything to console him right now, but as she couldn't think of anything, she simply remained silent, her breathing trembling slightly, as she did her best not to cry.

They just stood like this for a while, the blond agent with her arms around the mercenary, underneath his leather jacket, her head resting on his shoulder, while he still wasn't responding to her, remaining utterly shell-shocked. But Bobbi didn't let go, as she knew that being here for Hunter was the only thing she could do right now and after what felt like an eternity, there was suddenly something wet dripping onto her neck and the next second the mercenary had his arms around her, his face buried into her shoulder as he was crying silently, her presence being the only thing that kept him from falling apart entirely.

**To be continued…**


	12. It's Always Going To Hurt

A/N: Sorry for the wait, but I've been really busy this last few days and didn't have a lot of time to write. Of course I've seen the mid-season finale last week, and it was a really great episode, but I have to say that I'm actually pretty much okay with everything that happened in it. But I learned a few things, particularly that plot-armour saves lives (and a complete and utter lack of it gets you killed!), Coulson is a buzz-kill and Skye needs to learn to always double-tap!

Now I can't wait for March to see how all of this continues and I really really really want to know what Bobbi is hiding! (But that hug was like the cutest thing ever! :D )

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><p><strong>Chapter 12: It's Always Going To Hurt<strong>

Director Coulson was standing in the Playground's hangar, a sombre expression on his face as he watched the Quinjet slowly descending through the open hangar doors and landing a safe distance away from the Bus in its usual position.

A few hours ago, he had been looking forward to this moment, excited to see one of his oldest friends within SHIELD again and to work with him once more, even at the risk of having to hear the younger Hunter bitch and moan about his father's presence during the entire duration of his stay, but now after Agent Triplett had contacted him with an update on the mission and he had briefly talked to him and Agent Morse and had found out what had happened, there was a leaden feeling in his stomach, intensifying with every second.

Robert Hunter was dead, assassinated by HYDRA, just as he was passing his information about their new favourite weapon on to SHIELD, and Coulson knew that that couldn't have been a coincidence. He still needed to hear the full mission report, but going by what he had learned so far, that the former agent had actually been a part of the team that had created the poison used in last night's attack, it only made sense that HYDRA must have known, or at least anticipated, that someone would come looking for him sooner or later. They must have had a team in position, waiting to see who would turn up on the scientist's doorstep and once they had found out where he had kept the intel on the project, they had taken him out, almost managing to kill the SHIELD team on site in the process as well.

Almost.

Director Coulson heaved a heavy sigh as he tried to focus on the one bright spot of this mission, and that was that his people had not just managed to recover what was most likely invaluable intel, but that, most importantly, they had returned safe and sound. Or as safe and sound as they could be, after one of them had had to witness his own father being shot right in front of him.

As the ramp of the jet finally opened, Hunter and Bobbi stepped out a few seconds later, and Coulson was involuntarily reminded of the day Isabelle Hartley and Idaho had been killed and the mercenary had walked into his office several hours later, after his meeting with General Talbot, his white t-shirt underneath his leather jacket stained over and over with the female agent's blood.

This time Hunter's shirt wasn't white, but a light brown colour, but it still didn't do anything to hide all the blood he must have tried to wipe from his hands rather unsuccessfully. But despite his appearance, the look on the mercenary's face was surprisingly calm and collected, nothing like the anger Coulson had been met with after the mission during which they had first encountered the obelisk.

But as Hunter now approached him, the director also remembered all too clearly that he hadn't exactly shown the younger man a lot of sympathy that day, even though he had lost two of his friends, and he knew that that wasn't something he wanted to repeat today.

"Hunter," he began, but before he could say anything else, the mercenary immediately interrupted him, pulling something out of his jacket in the process.

"My dad literally spent his last breath telling me where to find this, so you better make bloody sure it was worth it," he told Coulson, handing him a small flash drive in the process. But as Hunter was already about to walk away, he hesitated for a second, his expression darkening even further.

"He said his notes were so good that we wouldn't even need his help. I guess now we'll have to find out." After that, he turned away from the director and walked out of the hangar without another word, but as Bobbi, who had been right next to him this entire time, was already about to follow him, Coulson held her back, even though he could easily understand her need to be there for her ex-husband right now.

"Bobbi, I need to know exactly what happened. Mission debriefing in my office, now." The agent stopped dead in her tracks, obviously torn, her eyes darting from the director to the corridor through which Hunter had just vanished and back again.

"Sir, I know that this is important, but can't it-"

"No, I'm afraid this can't wait," Coulson cut her off, his expression grim. "Because there has been another attack."

* * *

><p>Hunter wasn't really sure how he had ended up in here. As a matter of fact, he wasn't even completely sure where 'here' exactly was.<p>

He vaguely remembered aimlessly making his way through the corridors of the base and taking a left turn somewhere around the science lab, and now he was sitting on the floor in a long, almost empty room, leaning with his back against one of the walls, which stretched on far enough to almost make him feel like he was inside a tunnel instead. He figured that this had probably been some kind of testing range at some point, going by the few scorch marks and bullet holes at one of the ends of the room, but now there was nothing left in here except from a few dusty shelves at the wall and a large, surprisingly clean metal table and chair in the centre.

The mercenary had no idea for how long he had been sitting here. Going by the fact that his jacket was gone and he was wearing clean clothes again, he must have stopped by his bunk at some point after getting off the Quinjet, but he had to admit that he had absolutely no recollection of that.

But one thing he did remember from before he had found himself in here were the sympathetic, even pitying looks some of the agents he had walked past had given him. Despite the organisation's penchant for secrecy, a SHIELD base was obviously still a place where gossip travelled fast, and by now every single agent in the compound seemed to have heard of what had happened, how he had not just failed to protect the scientist, he and Bobbi had been assigned to bring in, but how he hadn't been able to do anything but watch as his own father had been killed right in front of him.

Hunter ran his hands through his short hair in a helpless gesture, not really knowing what to do or even what to feel as he was still having trouble to even accept what had happened. Five years ago when his mother had died, he had of course been devastated as well, but while he had also been angry at his parents for not telling him about her condition sooner, and for all the secrets they had still been keeping from him, he had been able to grieve for her nevertheless. He had gotten the opportunity to say goodbye to her and despite everything, they had been able to make their peace with each other. Something he and his father would now never get the chance to do.

_"All those people HYDRA killed, that blood is on _your_ hands, too!" _Even now the words were still running through his mind over and over again, making Hunter bite his tongue hard enough to draw blood as he wished desperately that he would have said something, anything else instead, or at least apologised for his outburst as he had known even at the time he should have, just so that this horrible accusation wouldn't have been the last thing he had ever said to his father before he had bled out on the floor in front of him.

The mercenary squeezed his eyes shut as he slammed his fist on the hard concrete floor, and as he tried to take a deep breath to calm himself, it was ragged and shaky instead, mirroring his inner turmoil perfectly.

His father was dead. The man with whom, before today, he had never had a completely honest conversation in his life, and whom he had spent half of that life hating, was gone, and despite all of that, despite the resentment he had been feeling towards him for the last twenty years, losing him now was hurting so much that Hunter almost couldn't breathe.

At first, back in his family's house, he had been too shocked and horrified to really feel the pain, and on the flight back in the Quinjet it had simply overwhelmed him, but now after he had already had some time to actually process what had happened, Hunter felt as if his loss was tearing him apart as his sorrow was mixing with his guilt and a desire for revenge, which he knew would only become stronger the longer he had to dwell on it.

Hunter was now resting his head back against the wall behind him, only concentrating on his breathing for a moment, a grief-stricken expression on his face, and a part of him actually would have given anything to go back to the initial numbness he had felt right after watching his father being shot. Back there in that room as he had watched him bleed to death, in the same room where his mother had died five years earlier and which his father had never even entered again until today, the mercenary had been so completely out of it that he hadn't even been able to feel the pain. Not really anyway.

No, in that moment, before he had even been able to process what was happening, his mind had been so overwhelmed with shock, fear and panic, that nothing else had really registered, and in a way that seemed a lot preferable to the way his entire being was aching right now, and how his head was still reeling, unable to slow down.

But of course, the mercenary was also well aware of the fact that if it hadn't been for Bobbi, him shutting down like that at his father's death would have most likely cost him his own life, as he had practically been a sitting duck, just waiting to be taken out by HYDRA's sniper as well. Without his ex-wife, he would have been lying on that floor, too, his entire family wiped out in a few moments.

But just as he had realised that he hadn't even thanked her for that, Hunter's thoughts were suddenly interrupted, as the door of the room opened unexpectedly. For a brief moment he thought that Bobbi had found him, but then he realised that it was Agent Fitz who entered, almost disappearing behind all the equipment he was carrying and which he now put down on the table in the centre of the room.

Hunter's brow furrowed slightly in confusion as he looked at all the weird technical gadgets that were the engineer's daily tools, but which might as well have been alien, considering how little he understood any of them, and spotted what seemed to be a toy car among them. But after briefly running the back of his hand across his eyes, the mercenary immediately cleared his throat to let the scientist know he was here, not wanting to startle him any more than necessary.

As soon as he became aware of someone else's presence in the room, Fitz spun around, and going by the look on his face, Hunter was probably the last person he would have ever expected to find in here.

"Hunter, why are you... ? Aren't you... I thought you were gone on a mission," the engineer wondered haltingly, his surprise making it harder for him to concentrate on the right words.

"Well, we already came back," Hunter simply replied, doing his best to keep his voice even as he tried not to reveal his current desolate state, but then something suddenly occurred to him and he looked at Fitz scrutinisingly. "You haven't heard about it yet, have you?", he observed to the scientist's slight confusion.

"Haven't heard about what?", Leo asked in return, clearly not liking the idea of being kept out of the loop. "Simmons and her team are working in the lab and they're being very...", he waved one hand around absentmindedly, trying to think of the right expression.

"Noisy?", Hunter offered

"Yes, that, too," Fitz agreed, even though it was obviously not the word he had been looking for. Hunter's brow furrowed for a moment as he was thinking, then he tried again.

"Distractive," he suggested this time, causing Fitz to nod in agreement.

"Yes, that's it. That's why I've been focusing on my own projects and I find this room to be a good place to... to get some work done."

"Not a team player, eh?", Hunter asked with a weak smirk, but as he noticed the way Fitz's face fell at what had been supposed to be an innocent remark, the mercenary kicked himself mentally, reminding himself that the young scientist wasn't exactly the best target for his usual cockiness.

"I used to be, or at least I was with Simmons, but ever since...", Leo's mouth opened and closed a few times silently before he finally continued. "I find it hard to explain... what I'm doing and that makes it complicated to… to work with anyone," the scientist justified his behaviour, obviously frustrated by his difficulties to form even a few simple sentences. But Hunter just shrugged as he now got up from his position on the floor and headed over to the table to take a closer look at the things the scientist had put down on there.

"Well, don't worry, mate, with me you wouldn't have to bother either way. I don't have a clue what any of this stuff is and I know I wouldn't get it even if you explained it to me perfectly." At this point his eyes focused once more on the red miniature car that was standing in the middle of the table, which he now picked up, his eyebrows rising slightly as he looked at the small figure sitting inside of it, that looked very much like a SHIELD agent in the tiny black suit it was wearing.

"As we've already established, I have no technical skills whatsoever, so to me this actually looks like it's just a toy car and not the fancy high-tech spying equipment it probably is," he pointed out, only to be appropriately surprised at Fitz's reply.

"Actually, that _is_ a toy," the scientist admitted with a slightly embarrassed grin. "Mack made it for Coulson, because you know, it's Lola."

"Coulson's car?", Hunter asked in return, the tone of his voice both sceptical and amused. "The one Skye mentioned could fly?"

"Yes, that one," Fitz replied, his excitement about his project already beginning to show. "It's just that this model, it doesn't fly. But I'm planning to change that." Hunter looked from the toy back to the scientist at this, startled, and despite how horrible he was still feeling at the moment, his eyes lit up noticeably and a genuine grin appeared on his lips at the idea that Leo Fitz, one of the smartest people he had ever met and one of SHIELD's top scientists, was spending his time working on model cars, trying to get them to fly to be more precise.

"And where's Mack? Isn't he going to help you?", the mercenary now wondered, slightly surprised that his tall friend wasn't here already to keep working on what he had apparently built, but Fitz seemed to get a little uncomfortable at the question and started arranging his tools before he finally replied.

"Well, he's most likely busy with his own work at the moment. And also, maybe I did not exactly wait to ask him first," he admitted, but as he obviously didn't want to dwell on this particular point for much longer, the scientist quickly changed the subject, much to Hunter's dismay.

"I heard you and Agent Morse got to fly to England on your mission. I mean, of course I like working here in the States, but it'd still be great if we ever had an operation in Scotland, you know? Almost like going back home, wasn't it?", he asked with an almost wistful smile, having no idea how spot-on he actually was.

Hunter, who had just been examining the model car in his hands more closely, suddenly froze in his movements, his breath catching in his throat as he tried to answer. He knew of course that the scientist hadn't meant to remind him of what had happened – not that anything could possibly distract him from that for even a second – and that it was actually the fact that Fitz was still in the dark about what he had been through and therefore wasn't looking at him with pity in his eyes like everyone else, that was the reason why he was still here, but his innocent remark had still hit him a lot deeper than he liked to admit.

But if he didn't want to have to explain his sudden strange behaviour, the mercenary knew that he had to reply and so he finally nodded, forcing himself to speak again.

"Yeah," he choked out after a very long moment, his voice hollow to mask his pain, but he couldn't quite keep the anguished expression out of his eyes and so he remained focused on the model car in his hands, hoping that Fitz hadn't noticed.

But even though he might not have been as perceptive as he used to be, the effects of his words weren't lost on the scientist, although he wasn't exactly sure what had been so bad about what he had said. But in the end he arrived at the only conclusion that made any sense to him and Fitz put the tool he had just been holding back down on the table, his expression darkening slightly.

"Your mission… it didn't go well, did it?", he asked, prompting the mercenary to shake his head almost unnoticeably.

"No, it didn't," Hunter admitted, putting the car back down on the table, sighing. "But honestly, I'm kind of trying to avoid debriefing right now, so…", he trailed off, hoping that Fitz would get the hint that he didn't really want to talk about the details of the operation.

"Yeah, sure, you don't have to tell me, unless you want to. But-", Fitz started, only for Hunter to interrupt him midsentence.

"But you came here to work by yourself, and as I think I generally qualify as both 'noisy' and 'distractive', I better get out of your hair, right?", the mercenary asked with an unconvincing smile, obviously not wanting to leave, but rather offering to go himself, than to be kicked out by the engineer. But going by the confused look on Fitz's face, the scientist didn't have a clue where any of this had suddenly come from.

"No," he replied, shaking his head sincerely, "that's not what I was going to say. I was going to say that I could actually use some help with this project, and it could take a while, so if you'd like to a… a…"

"Assist you?"

"Yes, then you probably won't get to debrief Coulson for another few hours." Leo had a perfectly innocent look on his face as he waited for Hunter to reply, and the mercenary was more than grateful that he didn't make much of an issue of the fact that he was essentially hiding down here, but instead even facilitated him by giving him a reason to stay.

"Well, we already did save the Bus and everyone's lives together, I bet if I lend you a hand, we're going to have mini-Lola here up and flying in no time," Hunter announced optimistically, his expression actually brightening a little, as he finally had something to do, something to concentrate on, other than the horrible images that kept going through his mind over and over again, and the pain that accompanied them.

As they started to work, the mercenary quickly realised that just like when he had helped Fitz repair the Bus after it had been sabotaged by Agent 33, he didn't really have any idea what he was doing, but he followed the scientist's instructions closely and they were making extremely quick progress, especially considering the fact that he was a complete science illiterate, yet had to guess a good part of what Fitz was trying to tell him.

It took them a while to modify the appropriate parts to fit underneath the model car, and a few times Hunter completely lost track of what he was doing as his mind wandered back to the startled and pained expression on his father's face right after he had been shot, and the blood running from the wound, but each time Fitz pulled him back to the present, and even though the scientist was obviously curious about what had happened on the mission that it had left even a professional like Hunter in such a distraught state, he never so much as grazed the subject again, knowing all too well what it was like to be pushed when you weren't ready for something.

But in the end it was the mercenary himself, who brought the topic of his most recent mission back up a few hours later, just as they had finished their work and Fitz was double-checking every part of the model car and its brand new engine once more to make sure that they weren't going to destroy Mack's work on their test run.

"You know what Simmons and her team are working on at the moment, right?", he asked, glancing over at the engineer, but then continued without waiting for him to reply. "That poison HYDRA used last night when they killed all those soldiers. Now there is… there _was_ this former SHIELD scientist who apparently knew a lot about an older version of that stuff and Coulson sent me and Bobbi to talk to him and bring him back here, so he could help Simmons," Hunter explained, actually finding it a lot easier than he had expected to talk about what had happened, as long as he was pretending that it had just been an ordinary operation, and nothing that had affected him personally.

But as he continued, he couldn't avoid becoming increasingly choked up, but as he really appreciated Fitz's kindness towards him over the past few hours, he didn't want him to hear the truth from anyone else, and so he forced himself to go on.

"But as it turned out, HYDRA was already there. They... they shot him," and after a second's hesitation, he added, "right in front of me," finishing his explanation.

"That's terrible," Leo replied sympathetically, not even wondering why a trained soldier and mercenary like Hunter would get this upset over losing an asset. The scientist had just picked up the remote of the model car, which he had modified to now include controls for the flying mechanism as well, but at this point he hesitated, even though a part of him could still hardly wait to test his design, because he had begun to think of Hunter as a friend and it felt wrong to do something he enjoyed while the other man was obviously having a hard time just trying to hold himself together.

But only when the mercenary continued, his voice filled with grief, did Fitz finally understand why.

"That scientist, he… he was my dad." The words hung in the air for a long moment, while Leo's mouth opened slightly, but he just couldn't think of anything to say. He had never been particularly good with expressing his emotions or addressing those of others, not even before what Ward had done to him, but now it seemed all but impossible to express the compassion and sympathy he was feeling towards Hunter with words, and so in the end he decided rather not to try at all, to not make this moment any more uncomfortable than it already was.

The remote still in one hand, he gave the mercenary a brief one-armed hug, that might have been a little too familiar for the relationship they had, but it was over before it could have become too awkward and before Hunter had the chance to think much about it, leaving him only with a slightly startled expression. Then Fitz suddenly held the controls of the miniature car out to him, shrugging helplessly, a well meaning expression on his face.

"I think you should have the first go. I'm not sure if I could have built this without your help, or at least not nearly in this time."

"You sure? I mean, this was your project," Hunter pointed out in return, knowing full well what Fitz was doing, that this was his, even though slightly strange way of offering his condolences.

"Actually, it was Mack's, really, I just thought of a way to make it fly, and yes, I want you to do it. Just… don't crash Lola, alright?", he finished, actually managing to elicit a small smile from Hunter.

"Alright," the mercenary agreed, taking the remote from the engineer, and after a few brief instructions, he managed to get the red model car to take off from the table and fly around the large room with a soft whirring noise, careful not to stir it into one of the walls by accident.

He kept going like this for a few more minutes, fully concentrating on the controls in his hands, and even managing to let the car do a few small tricks like flying underneath the table, when Fitz suddenly spoke again, obviously having used that time to find the right words to get across what he wanted to say.

"It's always going to hurt, you know, but not like this, not like right now. And eventually you'll be alright again, I promise."

Hunter kept his eyes, which were once more shining with tears, on the miniature car, not wanting to face Fitz directly. The giant lump in his throat was making it hard for him to say anything in reply, so at first he simply nodded in agreement, before he finally managed to get at least a few barely audible words out.

"Yeah, I know."

**To be continued…**


	13. Problematic Individuals

**A/N: I know that this chapter is kind of a detour, and I originally intended to just continue with the team, but as I was writing that scene, I couldn't help but feel that it was incomplete, that the story was missing something important, and so I wrote this instead. But as I've already done a good part of the work for the next chapter, that's gonna be up sooner than this update.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13: Problematic Individuals<strong>

The young man making his way across the street away from the bus station pulled his baseball cap deeper into his face and shoved one hand into his pocket once again to feel the ticket he had just bought that would let him take the next bus to Mexico, which would leave in about half an hour, giving him just enough time to grab a bite to eat, even though he was still so nervous that he barely felt any hunger.

But he knew that he needed to keep his strength up and a large cup of coffee didn't sound too bad either, as he hadn't slept at all last night and didn't know when he would find the opportunity to either, as he couldn't afford to let his guard down. Not that he would be much safer in Mexico, not from _them_, but it was just the first step to get as far away as possible and to lay low until he had figured out what to do next.

He glanced over his shoulder once more before entering the small rundown restaurant that was the only place that served food near the tiny bus station here in the middle of nowhere somewhere in south Arizona, his eyes going up briefly to the faded sign above the door that read "Maggie's Diner".

Even though it was still lunch time, there were only five other customers sitting in the booths or at the counter, the middle-aged waitress was busy at the moment refilling one of the patron's coffee and through the service hatch he could see the cook in the kitchen preparing the next order. He made his way to the back of the room towards a seat near the service exit, where he sat down against the wall so he had a good look at the front door, his backpack next to him, ready to go at a moment's notice.

As the waitress came over, he ordered a cheeseburger and a cup of coffee, then waited in silence, absentmindedly pulling off his cap and running a hand through his bleach blond hair, before cursing inwardly and covering it again, knowing that the colour was not exactly discreet and he would have to change it as soon as possible if he wanted to avoid drawing attention. But as he had spent his entire career so far as an analyst, without ever needing to go out into the field, it wasn't really much of a surprise that he hadn't really gotten used to being on the run just yet.

"Can I get you anything else?", the waitress asked as she put his food and coffee down in front of him a few minutes later, but the young man shook his head and started eating as soon as she had turned away again, suddenly realising how famished he actually was. He hadn't eaten all day and the burger actually tasted amazing, even though at this point he would have wolfed down pretty much anything without question.

About halfway through the burger though, he stopped for a moment and put it back down on the plate, finally taking a moment to think and try to determine what his next steps would be.

A part of him was still angry at himself, because he knew of course that all of this was his own damn fault. He had had an amazing job, interesting, challenging and with great pay, that other people would have killed for, and he had thrown it away because even though he had done well for a while with simply not thinking about the consequences of his work too closely, at some point he had finally realised that as a matter of fact, he _wouldn't_ kill for this job. But if you wanted to work for HYDRA, that was pretty much a prerequisite.

He took a large gulp of his coffee and glanced around nervously once more, half expecting a HYDRA assault team to storm the diner any second and either drag him outside or simply put half a dozen bullets through his chest without warning to make him pay for what he had done.

Not that it was worth much in his defence, but he had never really intended to become a traitor. Of course he was already one in the eyes of SHIELD, but he had always known who it was he had actually agreed to work for, and for the longest time he had simply gone with the program, not questioning the actions of his superiors.

As an analyst in one of HYDRA's main bases, it had been part of his job to supervise their communication channels and when he had first discovered that someone from military intelligence had managed to find and was now monitoring one of their communication frequencies, he had not really given it much thought, knowing that their encryption was far too strong to be broken by anyone. For some reason, which he couldn't really explain anymore, he hadn't even told any of his superiors about it, and had simply went on about his business as usual, until he had one day been confronted with details about an operation that had wreaked havoc with his carefully maintained balance of denial and blatant disinterest that had so far allowed him to do what he did for a living.

He had been tasked with coordinating the preparations for a mission that had been a lot more gruesome than HYDRA's usual exploits, or at least the ones he had been a part of, and that had, aside from the usual military targets, also involved the murder of several civilians. He would still be sitting safely behind his desk right now, if he had just handled the operation like any other, if he had looked the other way, as he had done so many times before, but for some reason, he hadn't.

So instead of using any other of their communication frequencies and putting several layers of encryption over the data he was sending as he usually did, without really thinking it through, he had picked the one monitored channel and had used only the bare minimum of encryption to not raise suspicion, a part of him hoping that whoever was listening in on their communication could break it in time to stop HYDRA's attack.

And they had.

The HYDRA agents in the field had been taken down, the civilians had been saved, and no one had suspected him or even that there had been a leak inside the organisation. Or at least that was what he had thought.

After that he had used this same method a few more times, each time concealing the communication as part of his job, but secretly informing on HYDRA's next plans to make sure that no innocent people were harmed. He didn't even know why he had suddenly cared so much, after he hadn't been particularly bothered when they had fought their way out of SHIELD's shadow, and agents had been killed left and right, but this slaughter of civilians was not something he could just ignore any longer.

Now he realised of course that that had been the point when he should have run, when he should have made a carefully thought-out plan to get himself to safety, but for some inexplicable reason he hadn't. No, he had still thought that no one had discovered his betrayal yet and that maybe nobody would, and had only realised his foolish mistake yesterday when he had noticed that someone else had sent a bunch of information over the monitored frequency. And while that wouldn't have been very troubling on its own, the fact that the sender's ID showed that the message had been sent from his very own laptop had finally set off his warning bells, telling him that his actions had been discovered.

The information that had been sent had been the coordinates for some of HYDRA's facilities, bases and safe houses with absolutely no strategic value and while he didn't have any idea why someone would want the military to find them, he had known right away that all of this could only mean that he had been found out and that he would be dead if he didn't get away immediately.

And so he had started to run and hadn't allowed himself to slow down yet.

Somehow he hadn't even expected to get this far, hadn't thought he would make it out of the office building, let alone the country, but here he was, just minutes away from getting on a bus to Mexico, hoping to find a way to get out of HYDRA's reach.

"Do you want some more coffee?", the waitress suddenly interrupted his thoughts, and the young man nodded in reply, managing a weak smile.

"Yes, thank you," he answered as he held his cup out to her, waiting for her to refill it.

"Anything else, hon?", the blond woman asked in a friendly, almost motherly tone, but as he shook his head, she was already about to head back to the counter, when someone else's voice suddenly held her back.

"I would like a cup of coffee please, black, two sugar if you don't mind."

The young men at the table froze completely at the sound of the voice, his eyes widening in fear as he looked past the waitress and saw the two men in black suits standing behind her. One of the men, who was apparently the muscle of the operation, with broad shoulders and his hair in a short buzz cut, sat down in the booth on the other side of the aisle wordlessly, while his boss, a man in his early forties with short reddish-brown hair, gave the waitress a friendly nod, indicating to her to go and get his order, before he sat down opposite from the obviously scared young man.

Surprised by the sudden arrival of the two new customers, who seemed so out of place here in their plain, but expensive looking suits, the blond woman hesitated a second, fumbling with the small notepad she used for the orders, before she gathered herself again and looked over at the man, who had remained silent so far.

"And what about you, can I get you anything?", she asked nicely, only for her smile to falter again, as he looked up at her with an almost frighteningly stoic expression and shook his head slowly, before going back to staring straight ahead once more.

At this point, the red-headed man addressed her again, an apologetic smile on his lips.

"Please excuse my friend, he is not exactly what you would call very talkative. Abigail, isn't it," he asked, glancing at the nametag on her blouse, "why don't you just get him a glass of water and the coffee for me, please. Thank you." Obviously relieved that at least one of her strange new customers was acting like a normal person, Abigail nodded in agreement and headed back to the counter, while the three men remained silent for another moment, as the one who was obviously in charge of this meeting took a moment to study the menu on the table, while the young man sitting opposite from him was clearly too afraid to say or do anything.

"It's a nice enough place I suppose," the man in the black suit finally pointed out, "although a little small for my taste. But I guess someone in your situation takes what he can get, right?", he asked, looking at his opponent with a small smirk on his lips.

"Please, Mr. Hawkins, sir-", the young man began, only to be cut short immediately.

"Do me a favour, will you, Mr. Andrews? Don't waste my time. I've actually come all this way down into this sad excuse for a city to give you something back that belongs to you," he announced as he placed an expensive looking laptop on the table in front of him. "But of course I realise that you have been in quite a hurry as you left, so it is not that surprising that you didn't take it with you."

Andrews was already about to reply something, but as the waitress came back at this moment, he remained silent for now.

"Here you go. One water," she began, putting the glass down in front of the quiet man hesitantly, before turning towards the other table quickly, "and one coffee, black. Sugar's here on the table. Can I get you something to eat?"

"No, thank you, I won't stay long. My colleague here and I just have some brief business to discuss, then I'll be on my way again," the man with the reddish-brown hair replied charmingly, looking up at the waitress with a bright smile. "If I had more time, I'd definitely try today's special, because that sounds delicious," he explained, pointing at the menu, "but I'm afraid we'll have to postpone that, Abigail. For now I'll just stick with the coffee."

"Alright, call me if you change your mind," the waitress replied with a smile in return before heading over to another customer, leaving the two men to themselves.

As they could talk privately again, the atmosphere in the air changed instantly, becoming tense, but less fearful than before, as the young man, who had already been sitting here seemed to be recovering from his initial shock.

"How did you find me?", he asked with a sigh, taking off his baseball cap in the process as there was obviously no point in trying to hide his identity any longer.

"Did you honestly believe we ever lost you?", Hawkins asked in return, one eyebrow raised slightly, as he picked up the sugar dispenser and calmly began to prepare his coffee. "I just wanted to see where you'd run, but I guess I'd been hoping for something a little more exciting than simply taking the next bus to Mexico," he finished, stirring his hot beverage a few times, before taking a careful sip of it.

Swallowing hard, the blond young man in front of him picked up his cup of coffee now, too, but as he realised that his hand was shaking, he set it down again quickly and took a brief look around, trying to determine his chances should he decide to make a run for it.

"Alright," he replied, nodding absentmindedly. "So what now? Is _he_ here to shoot me?", Andrews asked, looking over at the man in the booth opposite from them. "Or are you going to drag me back to HYDRA and make me comply again?"

Hawkins shook his head, his expression cheerful at first, but quickly becoming almost frighteningly serious as he kept talking.

"Oh no, don't worry, neither of that. I'm not Dr. Whitehall; in fact, I'm nothing like him. But you probably shouldn't mistake that for a good thing, because you see, he has a very forgiving nature. He believes that pretty much everyone can be brought back into the fold, turned once again into a productive member of HYDRA, but I have my own methods for dealing with certain problematic individuals."

"'_Problematic Individuals'_?", Andrews repeated sceptically, doing his best to stop the trembling of his voice.

"Yes, the enemies of HYDRA," Hawkins elaborated, his eyes glistening dangerously. "But I'm not just talking about the agents of SHIELD or the soldiers of the government who attack us, no, I think it is most essential to deal appropriately with the traitorous scum that thinks they can damage our organisation from within. People like you, Mr. Andrews," he explained, causing the blond man opposite from him to draw a startled breath and shift in his seat as if he was about to bolt in fear.

But before he could do that, Hawkins suddenly reached across the table in a surprisingly swift motion and grabbed his arm just above the wrist, holding the analyst firmly in place, his eyes narrowing as he continued.

"But before you start to panic, let me be completely honest with you. Because to tell you the truth, I think you actually helped us a lot more than you caused us any harm. You may have sabotaged a few of our operations, but you also gave us the perfect tool to feed false information to those who still believe they can destroy us. And now they all know the price they'll have to pay if they try to take on HYDRA, so thank you for that," Hawkins finished with a grateful smile as he let go of the younger man again, even though he was still almost visibly shaking with fear.

They both remained silent for a moment, as Andrews took a few deep breaths to calm down and pull himself together again. Then he addressed the HYDRA agent in front of him once more, knowing that his situation was probably still hopeless, even though he couldn't stop feeling at least a little more optimistic than just a few seconds ago.

"Then what are you going to do to me, huh? I doubt that I 'helped you' enough that you'll actually let me go, right?", he asked, not allowing himself to believe that he could really get out of this alive. Which was why his opponent's next move was all the more confusing to him.

"For now, I'll let you enjoy your lunch," Hawkins replied as he stood up and reached into his pocket, pulling out a twenty dollar bill, he placed next to his barely touched coffee. "Your burger is on me, but you should be careful with the junkfood, that's really not healthy," he pointed out with an almost concerned expression, before making his way to the front door, winking to the waitress on his way out. The second HYDRA agent followed him quietly, but as everyone's attention was on his boss, nobody noticed the small device he had left behind on his table.

As Hawkins pushed the entrance door open, he stopped briefly as he noticed the small sign hanging against the glass, showing that the diner was open, and turned it around so that it now read 'closed' to everyone looking at it from the outside. Then he finally stepped out into the fresh air again, the taller HYDRA agent following him closely.

"Go ahead," Hawkins ordered calmly as they started to walk away from the diner, prompting his subordinate to silently pull out a pen-shaped device and press a button on it, causing the device back inside on the table to come to life, while he reached into an inside pocket of his jacket and retrieved a box of cigarettes a and a book of matches from it.

He offered one to the quiet agent next to him, who shook his head wordlessly, prompting Hawkins to simply shrug and light a cigarette for himself, before putting the box and the matches away again.

"You're right, I know it's a bad habit, but as far as I'm concerned, I think everyone should be entitled to at least one vice in their life. Otherwise, what's the whole point?" He took a few puffs of his cigarette, before finally stopping and turning back towards the diner, looking at it from the distance.

"You never know when it's over, so you might as well enjoy your life before you drop dead over lunch," he pointed out with a smirk, his eyes fixated on the body of the blond woman lying on the floor of the diner, just a few feet away from the door, convulsing in pain.

He cocked his head slightly as he watched her with fascination, inhaling the smoke of his cigarette deeply, not a single trace of compassion darkening his features. They remained in place for a few more minutes, until the woman had stopped moving completely, then Agent Hawkins dropped the butt to the ground and stepped on it absentmindedly.

"Goodbye, Abigail," he announced cheerfully, indicating a small bow in the direction of the diner, before heading off towards where they had parked their car earlier. "I suppose I should have tipped her better for leaving such a mess, but then again, I guess that would have been a waste," he finished with a shrug and a small chuckle.

As they approached the expensive black car they had come here in, that looked just as out of place in this small town as the two agents themselves, their driver came out to greet them, opening the door for Hawkins.

"Any news from our other operations yet?", he asked, receiving a nod in return.

"Yes, I just heard back from our men in England. The scientist is down, but the SHIELD team got away. And apparently they have the data."

Hawkins' expression darkened visibly at this, and he was already making plans as he was getting into the back of the car.

"Whose fault was that?", he asked, doing his best not to overreact.

"The sniper did a good job, but the ground team was too slow. They didn't manage to get to the two SHIELD agents in time." Hawkins nodded briefly, before turning towards the quiet agent, who had taken the seat beside him in the back of the car, his expression grim, but decisive.

"Take care of that for me, will you? And then I want to know everything about those agents, who they are, where their base is and just how many of them I have to kill to get my intel back."

**To be continued…**


	14. A Good Man

A/N: I know I wanted to update sooner, but I finally updated 'So Long' last week (I guess that guest review was the final kick in the ass I needed to work on that story again lol) and I barely had any time to write after that, but I hope you all had a merry Christmas and I wish you all a happy new year!

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><p>I really hope, that when the show continues next year, that Bobbi will get some more interaction with the other characters. If I remember correctly, she hasn't even talked to Skye or Fitz so far, no matter how briefly, and was in fact barely in the same room as them. That definitely has to change!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 14: A Good Man<strong>

"Are you getting all of this?", Agent May's voice came over the comm, while Director Coulson and the agents Skye, Morse and Simmons were standing in the former's office, watching the video feed playing on the large screen on the wall that was showing images from the small camera attached to the full hazmat suit May was wearing at the moment.

"Yes, the connection is good and the image is clear. Just don't move too fast," Coulson replied as he kept his eyes on the video.

The specialist had taken the Bus with a small team to south Arizona, after General Talbot had informed them of another attack by HYDRA involving the same poison as before, and as Bobbi hadn't been back from her and Hunter's mission in England yet, and Skye and Jemma had been busy working their own assignments, May was running point on this operation by herself without anyone from Coulson's inner circle accompanying her.

But General Talbot was actually on site himself this time and the members of SHIELD's science department, who had gone with May were already working together with the military staff to secure the scene and bag any evidence, while the man in charge had just put on a hazmat suit himself and was next to the specialist now as they made their way into the small restaurant that HYDRA had attacked. A sign with the slightly faded words "Maggie's Diner" came into view on the screen for a second as May took a look around outside, before Talbot pushed the glass front door open, leading the way into the building.

Even from the outside, they had been able to spot the body of a blond middle-aged woman, who, going by her outfit, had been the waitress of the diner, lying on the floor next to the door, and as they now made their way past her, Talbot looked down at her briefly, his voice neutral, but not entirely concealing his regret and anger.

"Apparently she had been trying to escape when the poison hit, but obviously without much success. One of the locals discovered the scene and when the sheriff got here, her body was blocking the door. Might have actually saved his life, because instead of forcing his way in, he called the feds once he figured out that this might have been a biological or chemical attack. But of course we took the case from them the second I heard about the M.O. I'm sure this was HYDRA again and I want to catch the bastards who did this myself," Talbot finished his explanation.

"A diner in the middle of nowhere; honestly, this seems a little too random for a HYDRA attack. What proof does he have that it was them?", Coulson now asked over the comm, his voice still slightly sceptical. "Was there any video footage left behind again?" May repeated the questions for the general, causing him to shake his head in response.

"No, nothing like that. But aside from the fact that my guys already told me we're dealing with the same stuff like last night again, we also know who the main target was. And going by our files, he used to be one of yours."

The video feed showed them making their way into the back of the diner now, past the counter, where two dead patrons were lying next to their bar stools, their faces still distorted in pain, and towards the body of a young man with bright blond hair lying on the foor of the aisle between two booths. Just like the rest of the victims, he looked like he had been in agony during his death as well, and going by the tight grip he still had on the strap of his backpack, and his position on the ground, that suggested he had been moving forward when he had been hit by the poison, he, too, had been trying to get away in vain.

But before Talbot focused on the dead body, he pointed at a small black box, a few inches high and about the size of a postcard, standing on the table to their left next to an untouched glass of water.

"That's the device that emitted the poison. We believe that whoever sat at this table placed it here, left, and then triggered it remotely from the outside. The positioning alone makes it pretty obvious that this guy here was the intended target," Talbot noted, looking down at the blond man on the floor, "but of course we also ran background checks on all the other victims, just to be sure. But his was the only one that came back with anything interesting.

His name was Ryan Andrews, former SHIELD agent. He managed to avoid capture by my men after the Triskelion went down, when HYDRA was forced into the open, and even though he never appeared on our radar again until today, we're pretty sure he was actually working for them. But going by the mess they made killing him, I'd say he really must have pissed off someone higher up the food chain," the general theorised, obviously not feeling much sympathy for the victim this time, considering his employer.

"I don't know anything about his connection to HYDRA, but he definitely was working for SHIELD. I actually recognise him," May suddenly announced, surprising both Talbot and the members of her team listening over the radio.

"He was an analyst in the building while I was in administration. We never spoke and I didn't even know his name, but that hair is very hard to miss," the agent admitted, one eyebrow raised slightly.

"Yeah, and you'd think dyeing that eyesore would have been the first point on his list as he went on the run, but I guess he decided to wait until he was in Mexico. And if he really was just an analyst, he probably barely had a clue what he was doing anyway, so I suppose it's almost impressive that he even got this far," Talbot pointed out, scrutinising the dead young man in front of him for a moment.

Back in Coulson's office, Bobbi was standing with her arms crossed, her eyes narrowed slightly as she watched the video feed thoughtfully.

"Well, if Andrews really was with HYDRA, he wasn't one of Whitehall's people, because I've never seen him before and I've had a look at the personnel files of everyone who worked in those offices.

"So maybe we really are dealing with a new player here," Coulson agreed, unconsciously mimicking Bobbi's stance as he continued to look up at the screen in silence.

Agent May now let her eyes wander around the scene once more, until she paused at the table to her right, where the dead analyst had most likely been sitting, going by the half-eaten cheeseburger still lying on a plate there. But it wasn't the food that had attracted her attention, but the two cups of coffee standing on each side of the table.

"Do you have any idea yet who he was talking to?", she asked Talbot, looking up at the general questioningly.

"You mean the second coffee?", he enquired, following the agent's line of sight and prompting her to nod in agreement.

"We have prints, but no match yet in any of our databases. You'll get a copy, of course, maybe your people will be able to find something we missed."

In Coulson's office, Agent Simmons now suddenly spoke up, after having been completely silent so far, almost startling the rest of her team.

"Fingerprints are a good start, but I'd also like to have Agent Andrews. His body, I mean," she explained, slightly flustered by how this had come out. "For testing and to perform a full autopsy myself. Working with samples and now with the data Bobbi and Hunter brought back is great, but if I really want to understand how this poison works, I need to see its effects on a human body firsthand."

General Talbot thought about that request for a moment, after May had conveyed it to him, and in the end he nodded his head in agreement.

"Alright. The way HYDRA is going at this, there really isn't any shortage of dead bodies this time, and considering that he was a traitor to SHIELD first, I guess it fits if you get to deal with his remains." He took another long look around the diner at this point, sighing as the full extent of the attack became apparent.

"You know, I've fought enough battles in my life to know that sometimes in war, things get ugly. And I've definitely dealt with my fair share of bad guys, but HYDRA, they're really something else. Seven people collateral damage just to kill one man, and as far as we know, his killer was sitting at the table right across from him. He could have shot him, waited for him to leave or use the restroom to avoid witnesses, but no, he wanted to make a point. He wanted to make his death slow and painful and it didn't matter that he was condemning seven innocent people to that same fate as well." The General shook his head at this point, unable to understand the reasoning behind such a level of cruelty.

"HYDRA was never known for being merciful, not to civilians or even towards their own people," May replied, looking back down at the dead body next to them. "Did Andrews have anything on him that could tell us why he was killed? HYDRA might be ruthless, but even they don't kill their own agents for absolutely no reason."

"We're hoping he did, yes," Talbot replied cryptically as he signalled a member of his team to come over to them. "The only things he had on his person were a ticket for the next bus across the border and a few clothes and some money in his backpack, but the most interesting thing was his laptop we found sitting right here next to his plate on the table," he elaborated as a soldier handed him the device in question, "and we're hoping that an analysis of the data on it will give us a clue as to who exactly we're dealing with and why they committed this massacre," he explained optimistically.

May was already about to reply something to that, as Skye's voice over the comm suddenly interrupted her, drawing her attention away from the general.

"Yeah, only that there's no way that Andrews brought that laptop with him," she pointed out decisively. "I don't know if that really is his laptop or not, but it was definitely left there by someone else on purpose. My guess would be on the person he talked to before his death."

Her brow furrowed in surprise, May indicated to the general to wait a second, as she turned away from him for a moment, focusing on the voice over the radio.

"What makes you so sure that Andrews didn't have the laptop with him? He was an analyst, so it'd make sense that he would take it with him as he went on the run."

The rest of the team in Coulson's office was obviously sharing the specialist's scepticism as they all looked at the hacker curiously, waiting for her to explain her theory.

"Well, for one, it's too big to fit into his backpack, isn't it, and unless there's a laptop bag there somewhere that we haven't seen yet, how would he have transported it? That's one of the most expensive laptops you can buy, so if he had the time to get some clothes while he was running for his life, it's ridiculous to think that Andrews would have travelled anywhere just holding that thing under his arm or something. And if whatever is on that laptop is really so important, that he would take it with him as he was trying to escape his bosses at HYDRA, why would he choose to leave it now, but still take the backpack? No, I think his murderer left this here for us to find, probably also to make a point."

The young agent's train of thought from here was pretty obvious, but she didn't even have to say it, as Coulson continued in her stead, looking at her impressed.

"May, I want you to bring that laptop back here, so Skye can take a look at it. I know Talbot might not want to go for that, but tell him that he'll obviously get access to everything we find, plus the intel Skye already managed to dig up, of course."

Even though they couldn't see the specialist's face at the moment, her voice betrayed clearly how sceptical she was about this order as she finally replied.

"Alright, I'll try to find a way to convince him. I'll get back to you if I should find out anything else interesting." After that, Agent May switched off the camera and deactivated her radio, causing the screen in Coulson's office to go dark and the communication between her and the team to break off. Simmons used this opportunity to excuse herself as well, to return to the lab with the data Bobbi and Hunter had brought back from their mission, promising to keep everyone in the loop concerning her progress, before leaving the blond agent, Skye and Coulson alone in the office.

Once the scientist was gone, Bobbi turned towards Skye next, her interest piqued by what Coulson had just offered General Talbot.

"We have to take out whoever is responsible for this and for what happened in England before they kill again, so please tell me you actually found a new lead while Hunter and I were gone," she almost pleaded, looking at Skye hopefully.

Ever since she had joined Coulson's team, she and the young hacker hadn't really had the opportunity to work together more closely or even to talk, really, but of course they were both professional enough and knew enough about each other's abilities and exploits to quickly establish a mutual respect among them, causing the younger agent to reply quickly, knowing how personal this mission must have become for Bobbi after what had happened during the assignment she had just returned from.

"Well, we initially thought that this poison was new, right, because we've never encountered it before, but Coulson said you guys found out that it's been almost a decade since it was developed, and if it's really been in HYDRA's possession for that long, I couldn't believe they just kept it lying around on a shelf somewhere," the hacker explained, looking up at the blond agent.

"But as there obviously weren't any records of anyone having been killed with this poison until last night, I started a wide search for any deaths that had been ruled a heart failure instead, which is the acute cause of death of the poison, but that could have actually been murders committed by HYDRA. As this obviously is a very wide search parameter, I started with anyone who had even the remotest connection to SHIELD, and so far, I already found two cases that look like they fit the bill.

The first one was Agent Gary Stapleton, a scientist stationed at the Sandbox, who quit SHIELD pretty unexpectedly, only to die apparently of a heart attack not two weeks later. There was no record of him having any kind of heart condition, and he was only thirty-nine, but his death was still ruled natural with surprisingly little suspicion by anyone. And the second possible victim was a member of SHIELD's special weapon's division, Agent Welker, who requested to be transferred, but died only three days after he had started working at his new post." This second part actually got Bobbi's attention, as it fit perfectly to what she and her ex-husband had found out just a few hours earlier.

"SHIELD's special weapons division, that's who Hunter's father was working for when he created the poison," she pointed out in surprise, turning to face Director Coulson now. "Maybe this is nothing more than a coincidence, but knowing the division's role in the making of that poison, we probably should look into this more closely. Did you manage to find anything yet on the man who recruited Dr. Hunter in the first place, Agent Hawkins?", she asked, clearly hoping for a breakthrough in this case.

But no matter how much Coulson would have liked to be able to give her one, he shook his head in response, his frustration showing.

"To be honest, we barely found anything on him. His name does come up in a few files from that time, but there don't seem to exist any personal records on him or even so much as a picture to confirm his identity. We know that the special weapons division had one of the highest numbers of HYDRA sleepers within SHIELD, and that it was one of the first sections that went dark during the uprising, and going by how much trouble somebody must have gone through to wipe Agent Hawkins from SHIELD's records so completely, we're assuming that he has to be a very high-ranking member of HYDRA and maybe even a part of the cell that is responsible for the recent attacks. At least his is the only name we can connect directly to the project so far, aside from Robert's, of course," Coulson conceded, sighing briefly as he was still visibly upset about both his friend's death and the role he had played in creating this horrible poison HYDRA was now using to kill its enemies.

Bobbi knew all too well how he was feeling, but at the moment she was still trying not to think too much about everything that had happened and what she had found out over the last few hours, and to concentrate instead on finding whoever was responsible for all of this. And as finding a pattern in HYDRA's previous attacks was a good enough start, she tried to make sense of what Skye had managed to find out so far.

"Alright, so Agent Stapleton and Agent Welker were from the Sandbox and special weapons respectively, both divisions of SHIELD where we know HYDRA had a lot of agents. Do you think they saw something they shouldn't have or maybe even found out the truth about HYDRA and then were killed so they couldn't talk?", she asked, addressing the whole group as she was trying out the idea.

"It's a theory, yes," Coulson agreed, even though he was obviously not convinced, "but, going by the impressive careers both of them had made until that point, and their connections to people we know were HYDRA, another is that they were actually HYDRA themselves, but for whatever reason, they decided to quit."

"Only that HYDRA is not something you retire from that easily," Bobbi continued his line of thought, nodding slowly, understanding dawning on her features as she repeated what Hunter had said to his father only a few hours ago as they had both assumed the former agent had been a loyal follower of the organisation.

"Right," Skye replied to her this time. "Maybe those guys actually grew a conscience or maybe they just didn't get along with the management, we obviously don't know, but we think that for whatever reason, both agents wanted to get out of HYDRA, but were killed before they really had the chance to enjoy their new freedom."

"And I'm sure they didn't even see it coming," Bobbi replied sadly, her mind obviously still caught up in what had happened to her ex-father-in-law, despite her best efforts to push the memory away for the moment.

"It was bad, wasn't it?" Skye now suddenly asked, her voice gentle, almost tentative, as she wasn't sure how much she could pry into what had happened, given the fact that she and Bobbi weren't exactly close, but still wanting to know the truth, as she considered at least Hunter a friend and truly cared for him and needed to know if he was alright. "What happened in England, I mean. With Hunter's dad," she elaborated, but a part of her was almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Yeah," Bobbi replied after a brief moment of hesitation, obviously having decided to trust Skye enough to tell her what her ex and she had been through today, "it was." She had already told Coulson earlier about the events of the mission, from Robert Hunter's initial refusal to come back to SHIELD, his confession about his connection to HYDRA and his role in designing a new dangerous poison based on the one that had killed his wife and finally to his assassination and the assault team that had stormed the house, forcing her and her ex-husband to flee the scene in a hurry. But so far, she hadn't said much about the details of the scientist's death, or the effect it had had on his son.

"And the truth is, I'm not even sure how Hunter is holding up. I'd like to say he's going to be fine, but honestly, I don't know. Those few sentences he said to you right after we had landed," she began to explain, looking at Coulson now, "that was more than he had said on the entire flight back." Bobbi fell silent for another second, shaking her head and grimacing slightly.

"I wasn't there when it happened. I was waiting downstairs in the living room while Dr. Hunter went to get his research data for us, but Lance went after him, because he thought he could convince him to come with us after all if he just talked to him one more time. I don't know what happened between them before the shot, they were probably arguing again, I just know that when I got into the room… it was bad. Hunter, he… I'm not even sure he really knew what was happening anymore." The agent sighed at the memory of the mercenary's desolate state when she had found him after HYDRA's attack, but then she actually managed a half-smile as she continued, shaking her head once more.

"You know, I almost thought Hunter was exaggerating about his bad relationship with his father before we got to his old house, but the truth is, he wasn't. We weren't there very long, only for about an hour, but it was obvious pretty much within seconds that to call things between them 'difficult' would probably have been the understatement of the year.

I mean, you were there when I came back from my undercover stint with HYDRA," she said, aiming her words at the director again, "and Hunter and I met again for the first time in almost a year. _That_ was warm and cuddly compared to him meeting his dad again. Honestly, I always thought Hunter and I fight a lot, but you should have seen him trying to spend just five minutes in a room with his father without shouting, it was practically impossible." Her expression had brightened a little at the thought that her ex-husband obviously had the tendency to argue with everyone who was close to him, and that it clearly wasn't her fault that they never seemed to get along easily, but the small smile on her lips vanished again quickly as she continued, a sad look in her eyes.

"But Dr. Hunter… Robert…, I believe he was a good man, despite of what he did and even though he clearly wasn't always a very good father, and I think Lance, he… he actually realised that, too. I'm not sure, but I think now that they were starting to be more honest with each other, there was actually a pretty good chance that they were going to fix things between them. Until HYDRA killed Robert right in front of his son, of course," the agent finished, the expression on her face both sad and angry, her hand clenching into a fist unconsciously as she realised just how much her mind was still reeling after what had happened and that she wasn't even able to guess how Hunter had to be feeling right now.

**To be continued…**


	15. The Next Step

A/N: It's going to be way too long until the show comes back up, but luckily we'll have Agent Carter to help us over the break. I plan to finish this story before the new episodes come out, but as I know myself by now, and my complete and utter inability to estimate the length of my own stories, I'm not going to make any promises at this point. Except that the next two chapters will be more Huntingbird heavy again!

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><p><strong>Chapter 15: The Next Step<strong>

Hunter and Fitz had left the former testing range deep inside the Playground where they had spent the last few hours, basically hiding from the world, and were now making their way back towards the base's science labs, only that this time the mercenary had offered to carry the equipment, which was now weighing him down heavily, while the engineer was just holding the red miniature car they had been working on, a proud grin on his lips as he glanced down at it repeatedly.

They both knew of course that the team was dealing with a lot more important issues at the moment and that they had essentially been wasting their time with this project, but in their own way, both of them had needed this, had needed to focus on something that didn't involve a dangerous HYDRA threat or countless lives hanging in the balance, well aware that they wouldn't exactly have been of much use to the others right now anyway.

Agent Simmons was right in her element at the moment, obviously, with her degree in biochemistry, leading the science division, but there wasn't really much application for Fitz's engineering skills while everyone was dealing with trying to fight a dangerous poison, and as the two formerly inseperable scientists still hadn't figured out a way to work together again, Leo had known that he would have only been standing in the way if he had stayed in the lab earlier. And while he had wanted to work on the model car Mack had built for Coulson simply for the fun of it, too, of course, it had also been supposed to serve as an exercise for his motor skills, and his ability to focus on more delicate work again.

But even if he hadn't said it out loud, a part of him actually suspected, that if it hadn't been for Hunter's help, he might have destroyed mini-Lola, maybe even beyond repair, and he was still glad that he had stumbled onto the mercenary, despite of the horrible circumstances that had let to him being down there in the engineer's makeshift workshop in the first place.

"Where do you want this stuff?", Hunter now suddenly asked, glancing around the lab from behind the large pile of equipment he was still carrying, eager to get rid of it, a part of him already regretting his earlier casual offer to take care of the scientist's things for him.

"Just put it on the table there," Fitz instructed absentmindedly, pointing at a lab desk in the corner where he now put down the model car, too, his attention already elsewhere. Hunter sighed exaggeratedly as he put the equipment down, as if he had actually had to struggle with the weight, but stopped as soon as he realised that the Scottish young man wasn't paying him any attention and was instead focused on something that was happening at the other side of the lab.

He followed his line of sight and quickly noted that Agent Simmons was standing there, surrounded by a large part of her science team, Director Coulson and Bobbi positioned to the side as they all watched a body in a black body bag being rolled into the room on a gurney.

"Looks like there's more dead people," Hunter remarked bitterly, before putting one hand on Fitz's shoulder for a brief moment, nodding his head in the direction of the others. "Come on, I think we've both been hiding from the real world for long enough now."

As Hunter made his way towards Bobbi, Simmons and Coulson, a small part of him actually urged him to just turn around and head back, telling him that he wasn't ready yet to face any more death, that he was still barely holding it together after his earlier complete shut-down, but instead of giving into that impulse, he kept moving forward, reminding himself than none of this was going to go away, just because he couldn't handle it.

HYDRA was still out there, killing people with the poison his own father had created, and as the former agent would now never have the chance to atone for the damage he had caused, the mercenary knew that he at least had to make sure that this wasn't going to be the legacy that remained of Robert Hunter. He needed to help the team to find and destroy every last drop of that poison, no matter what, and as it was almost inevitable that they would come across the person responsible for his father's death on the way, the prospect of getting his revenge was doing the rest to convince Hunter that he was not backing out of this mission again. He knew of course that he wasn't back at a hundred percent yet, but there was no reason that Coulson or any of the others had to know about that. Not if he could help it.

As he and Fitz were basically coming up from behind the group of scientists, plus Coulson and Bobbi, now, nobody noticed them at first as Hunter, with the engineer following closely behind, joined them, taking a look at what was happening.

The body bag had just been lifted onto a table in the centre of the group, and was now being opened to reveal the corpse of a blond young man, the fact that he was missing any obvious injuries quickly leading Hunter to suspect that he was a victim of the poison as well, making him one more death HYDRA would have to pay for.

"We'll begin with a full autopsy shortly, to determine the exact effects of the poison and to see if everything corresponds to the research data gathered by Hunter's father," Simmons started to explain, both her and the rest of the group still completely unaware that the mercenary was listening to every word she said. "He never tested his design on human subjects, thankfully, but his work on various mammals including monkeys and apes was very insightful, already giving me a good idea how the substance works." At this point Fitz was looking up at Hunter with an appalled expression, clearly horrified by the idea that his father had tested his creation on innocent monkeys, but as the mercenary was completely focused on what was happening in front of them, he didn't notice.

"And what's the next step?", Bobbi now asked, her arms crossed in front of her chest as she looked at Simmons, every now and then glancing down at the dead body between them, as if it was reminding her of the severity of the situation. "Robert spent years searching for a way to cure his wife's deteriorating condition, unsuccessfully, but what we need is something to counter the poison immediately, at best something that could make a person immune against it, or at least an antidote that can be administered directly."

"Yes," Simmons agreed, nodding her head, "you're right. I'm afraid that the poison is far too aggressive for any kind of vaccine to work, but we've already started working on an antidote and I'm hoping that we'll be able to make it work. And even though it may be hard to believe, HYDRA's cruelty is actually good for us in this case, as it's working in our favour on this," the scientist pointed out, but before she had the opportunity to explain her statement, a voice in a heavy English accent suddenly interrupted her, causing the entire group, Coulson and Bobbi included, to turn around in surprise.

"And how exactly is that?" Hunter asked, his voice filled with disbelieve and even a trace of anger at the mere idea that anything about HYDRA's cruel and horrible way of killing its enemies could be considered 'good'.

"Hunter!", the scientist replied in shock, taken completely off guard by the mercenary's presence. "I didn't know you were…" she began, only to trail off again immediately. "I didn't mean…", but this attempt at explaining herself didn't go anywhere, either, until she finally settled for a somewhat defeated, "I'm so sorry," leaving it unclear if she was just apologising for her words, or offering Hunter her condolences for his loss.

Bobbi's eyes were fixated on her ex-husband from the second she had become aware of his presence, but even though she wanted nothing more than to cross the distance between them and make sure that he was alright, she pulled herself together and stayed where she was, not even saying a word to him, knowing that any display of emotion right now would be unprofessional on her part and also that the last thing Hunter probably needed right now, was to be questioned about his feelings and his well-being in front of half the base.

But of course that didn't mean that she wasn't worried sick about him. After her debriefing with Coulson earlier, she had searched everywhere for the mercenary, but his bunk had been empty, except for a pile of bloody clothes lying on the floor, barely anyone had seen him, and even those who had, still hadn't had any idea where he had gone.

After the way Hunter had been on the flight back from England, barely responsive, shutting himself off from everything and everyone around him, Bobbi had hated being forced to leave him on his own, and even though he clearly seemed better now, it barely managed to calm her worries.

She had seen her ex in combat countless times before, knew of course about his recommendations from his time in the SAS, and she was sure that until today he had not lost control in a fight even once, no matter how badly a mission had went, or how many casualties his side had taken. He had always been the one who remained focused, despite any circumstances, which had made his complete and utter breakdown she had witnessed earlier all the more frightening. And deep down Bobbi knew that no matter how calm and collected Hunter appeared right now, that wasn't something he could possibly come back from this quickly.

"No, it's alright," the mercenary now declared angrily, replying to Simmons' apology. "I was just wondering how anything about _this_," he pointed at the dead young man on the table, "is supposed to be '_good'_? Or what about those thirty-six soldiers HYDRA killed just last night and whose deaths they were so considerate to catch on tape so we could all watch them die slowly and painfully?"

"Hunter!", Coulson suddenly spoke up, warning the mercenary that he wasn't going to tolerate his behaviour no matter what he had went through. But Hunter wasn't willing to listen to him and simply ignored the strict tone of his voice, continuing with his rant.

"No, really, I just want to understand how it can be 'good' for us that these people had to suffer the way they did. That this poison was created with the intention to cause as much pain as possible instead of just killing its victims quickly." Hunter was obviously furious by now, his voice having become increasingly louder during his outburst, but while she had at first been surprised and even intimidated by him, Simmons was now looking at the mercenary completely composed, even signalling Coulson that she could handle the situation.

"Because in that case, everyone who gets in contact with the poison would be dead immediately, leaving us no chance to do anything to help them. There are substances in this world, like the venom of certain spiders or frogs, that can kill a man before he even realises what happened. If HYDRA had turned something like that into an airborne weapon, there would be very little we could do against it. But as this poison we're dealing with takes a few minutes to kill the victim, there would be enough time to administer an antidote." She fell silent for a few seconds, just looking at the man in front of her with compassionate eyes, before she finally continued, her voice considerably gentler this time.

"Hunter, of course nothing about this poison is 'good', it is a horrible weapon, but now that I know the history behind it, I am absolutely certain that its mere existence must have been one of your father's biggest regrets." The scientist and the mercenary just looked at each other for another moment, until the latter nodded slowly, his voice calm once more, but also filled with sadness, as he replied.

"Yes, I'm sure it was," he agreed, silently grateful to Simmons that while she had already revealed his father's involvement in all of this to the agents working for her earlier, she wasn't condemning the scientist for his connection to HYDRA, and showed understanding for his position instead. He knew of course, that the fact his own father had been responsible for creating one of the most horrible poisons they had ever come across, would have gotten out into the open sooner or later, and while he somehow would have preferred it to be later, as he still had to come to terms with it himself, it was at least a relief to find that there were no judging looks being shot in his direction from anyone else.

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><p>"Hunter, wait!", Bobbi's voice held him back, just as the mercenary was making his way out of the lab. He had still wanted to talk to Simmons some more, to hear if his father's research was really as helpful as the former agent had assured him, and that him spending his last words on it had been worth it, but as the scientist had begun with the autopsy on HYDRA's latest victim, he had decided to postpone that talk for the moment. But obviously, there was one talk he couldn't postpone any longer, as his ex-wife had now caught up with him, even though he hadn't slowed down his steps.<p>

"Where have you been earlier?", the blond agent now asked, scrutinising him for a moment. "I was worried about you. I wanted to go with you after we had landed, but Coulson kind of dragged me off, and when we were finished with the debriefing, I couldn't find you anywhere. Are you alright?", she finally asked with a sceptical expression on her face, laying one hand on Hunter's arm, forcing him to stop walking.

The mercenary looked at Bobbi hesitantly for a brief second, a part of him already about to open up to her, but then his expression hardened almost unnoticeably, as he was afraid that if he allowed himself to deal with even some of the pain he was still feeling, he wouldn't be able to keep it together any longer at all, and then there would be no way that Coulson would allow him to continue being a part of the current operation. After the stunt he had pulled, back when Izzy and Idaho had been killed, he still wasn't sure if there even was a chance for him to go after HYDRA himself, but he sure as hell wasn't going to blow it now by turning into an emotional wreck.

"If you mean if I'm alright with my father being shot literally five feet in front of me, then the answer is 'no'," he replied in an almost harsh tone, clearly startling his ex, but not giving her the chance to reply anything right away as he quickly continued. "But I'm not going to cry about it anymore, that's for sure. I guess I was kind of in shock at first, but after I had some time to think, I realised that me and my dad, we were never close, we haven't talked in years, and while I still want to get the bastard who did this, of course, there's no use in acting like it's the end of the world, either. I just hope that my father was right about his research data and that Simmons can find an antidote against the poison he made even without his help, otherwise we'll be right back where we started."

In a way, Hunter hated himself for these words, but right now, denying how deeply he had been and was still being affected by what had happened, was the only way he knew how to cope with it, if he didn't want to find himself hiding in Fitz's secret workshop again, and so he kept his expression in check, hoping that his ex would believe his changed attitude.

But there was a reason why Bobbi had always been one of SHIELD's best agents, and it wasn't her impeccable fighting skills.

"Hunter, I don't know what's wrong with you," she began in a resolute tone, emphasising her words by tapping her finger against the mercenary's chest, "but _this_, this right here, is why no matter who you work for, you're always going to be a soldier at heart, and not a spy. I have no idea why you would do this right now, but you're lying. You're lying to me, maybe you're even lying to yourself, but either way, I can promise you that this bullshit is going to blow up in your face very _very_ soon!"

"I think I'll manage, thanks," Hunter replied casually, knowing that he was an asshole for blowing Bobbi off like this after everything she had done for him today. But before he could say anything else to her, or had the chance to rethink his tactic, Coulson suddenly approached them, his attention focused on the mercenary.

"Hunter, I understand that you needed some time after what happened to your father, and Bobbi already debriefed me on most of the details of the operation, but if you're feeling up to it, I'd like to get your point of view as well," he admitted, actually giving the younger man the option to back out, if he didn't think he could handle talking about the events of the mission. But as this was exactly what Hunter had been waiting for, the opportunity to show the director that he was able to act professionally, even under these terrible circumstances, he quickly nodded in agreement.

"Of course, it's not a problem. I'll tell you what I know," he assured Coulson, to the man's obvious relief.

"Good. Meet me in my office in five," he instructed, before heading off down the corridor, leaving Hunter and Bobbi alone once more. But while the blond agent had so far been trying to get through to her ex, she backed away from him now, lifting her hands slightly as if she was signalling that she was giving up.

"Alright, if everything that happened is 'not a problem' to you, then I'm obviously wasting my time here trying to help you. If you change your mind, you know where to find me, but I'm done chasing you down. I just hope you'll realise what an idiot you're being before it's too late," she finished, shaking her head at him uncomprehendingly, before turning around and storming off in the opposite direction from Coulson.

Hunter sighed as he looked after her, feeling like shit for letting her go like this, knowing just how deep he was in her dept and that even without her saving his life multiple times today, Bobbi didn't deserve him treating her like this. But then he pushed that guilt and sadness from his mind, just like he had done with the pain about his father's death, forcing himself to focus on the mission ahead, to stop HYDRA from killing again and to eliminate the person responsible for taking the only family he had left away from him.

**To be continued…**


	16. Fixing A Mistake

**A/N:** I had a rather gaping logic error in the last chapter, where Simmons first tells everyone that Hunter's dad created the poison, only for them both to then act as if nobody except the main team had a clue. That should teach me to stop finishing my chapters in the dead of night! (Like I would actually ever change that. lol) Anyway, I fixed it pretty early, so most of you didn't even catch it, but to those of you who did, that was my bad, and I changed it now so that everyone in the base knows that Robert Hunter was the one who designed the poison, as keeping that a secret doesn't really make much sense anyway.

I also re-read almost the entire story once more, fixed a few mistakes here and there and changed a line or two that didn't sound too well imo (nothing significant though), but aside from these small corrections, I also added a few lines of dialogue between Hunter and his dad back in chapter 7 when they're all still standing at the front door of the house, to include a small story element, that I must admit I had simply forgotten about at the time while making sure to keep the rest of the story straight. That has been bugging me ever since, and while you won't miss anything really important if you don't read it, that part of the story just didn't feel complete without it and I'm glad I've finally added it now. (Date of the change is January 10th, so if you've started reading this fic after that date, don't bother going back, you already read the new version.)

Also, I know that I promised more Huntingbird scenes in this chapter and the next, but as this scene got a little (*cough*) out of hand, that's gonna be delayed to the next two chapters. But chapter 17 is gonna be up really _really_ soon, so don't worry about that!

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><p><strong>atSasha<strong>: Nah, Bobby isn't a biochemist, she just has a basic understanding of how certain things work. And I guess in contrast to Fitz, she knows what the difference between a vaccine and an antidote is without having Simmons explain it to her first.

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><p><strong>Chapter 16: Fixing A Mistake<strong>

As Hunter stood in front of the door to Coulson's office, he hesitated for a moment and took a deep breath, trying to prepare himself for his debriefing with the director, which he knew he had avoided more than long enough by now.

Right after his and Bobbi's return to the base, when he had handed Coulson the flash drive his father had been keeping hidden, it had taken pretty much all of his resolve to appear as composed as he had and not to show right away what a mess he had really still been at the time. Not that he didn't still feel like one now, but in a way it had become a lot easier to focus again, and as long as he had something to do, something to keep his mind busy, he was somehow even able to push most of the pain away and to do what he had done when he had first told Fitz about the mission, to pretend like none of this had hit him personally.

Of course Hunter fully realised that this approach wasn't going to work forever, but for now he wasn't planning much further ahead than this meeting, which he was sure was going to determine the role he would be allowed to play in the hunt for HYDRA and the people not just responsible for the organisation's latest attacks, but also for his father's death. And he knew that if he didn't want to end up being grounded for the remainder of this operation, he didn't just have to hide his almost crippling emotional pain, but he also couldn't afford to lose his temper again like he had done the last time he had been inside Coulson's office, only a few hours ago.

Looking back at that argument now, it seemed to have been ages ago, before he had found out the truth about his mother's death or, even worse, the horrible things his father had done in an effort to save her. Back then, his worst memory in regard to Robert Hunter had been a tie between their last angry fight and one of the many times as a child when he had foolishly trusted the man's promise that he and his mother would be there for him, only to be disappointed yet again, now it was the image of his father lying on the ground in front of him, dying, with him being unable to do anything but watch helplessly.

Closing his eyes tightly for a second, the mercenary took another deep breath, shuddering slightly, willing himself once more to focus less on his personal involvement in all of this, and just on the facts instead, like he had done while talking to Fitz earlier. It wasn't exactly easy, but after a few moments he had himself under control again, subduing the memories far enough that he could still easily recall what had happened, but without allowing them to overwhelm him any longer.

"_You're lying to me, maybe you're even lying to yourself, but either way, I can promise you that this bullshit is going to blow up in your face very, _very_ soon!" _Bobbi's angry words were still ringing in his ears, and in a way Hunter was even concerned that she had actually been right, but he was also a lot more afraid of what would happen if he wasn't able to get his shit together now and convince Coulson that he was still fit for duty, because he knew that if the director had seen the condition he had been in earlier, hiding from the world down in that old shooting range, hurting so much that he had barely been able to think straight, he would have most likely instantly banned him from going out into the field for the next few weeks and probably sent him to a shrink, too, just for good measure.

And right now, the young man wasn't willing to accept either of that, because he was sure that the only thing keeping him going at the moment was the prospect of doing something productive again and he had no idea what he would do if that were taken away from him.

After taking one last deep breath and standing up straighter again, Hunter finally knocked on the door in front of him briefly, but then entered without waiting for a reply, knowing that Coulson was expecting him. The director was standing in front of the large window, looking outside, as the mercenary came in, but turned around as soon as he became aware of him, a grave expression on his face as he scrutinised him for a moment, before sighing deeply and indicating for them both to move over to the desk.

"Hunter, thank you for coming here. Take a seat! I know none of this can be easy for you right now, so I'll try to make this conversation as brief as I can."

Hunter nodded silently as he followed Coulson's instruction, teetering slightly on his chair for a second, as if to test that it was still stable, after he had thrown it across the room earlier that day, but then he focused again, while the director sat down in his own leather armchair as well, and for a moment, neither of the two men said anything, as they both just looked at each other, before Coulson finally spoke again, breaking the quiet.

"I haven't really had the chance to say this yet, but I want you to know that I am truly sorry for what happened during your mission. Robert was my friend and while I know that you two had your fair share of problems, I also know how hard it is to lose your father like that, without warning, without having the chance to say goodbye." Coulson's words were clearly honest and heartfelt, and Hunter, who had obviously not expected this level of compassion from the director, after the heated argument they had had the last time they had spoken in here, looked slightly taken aback for a moment, before he finally nodded, his expression surprisingly composed under the circumstances.

"Yeah, thanks. It's true, there's still a lot of things I'd have liked to say to my dad, but honestly, I'm not sure if a million years would have been long enough to fix that train wreck of a relationship we had. Or even if our last conversation actually made things between us better or worse." The mercenary sighed slightly at this, but as this conversation was already going in a way he would rather avoid, he quickly tried shifting the topic away from himself.

"I'm sure Bobbi already told you that he didn't want to come with us back here to SHIELD. He wanted to help, I guess, but I think he was afraid that there would be no coming back from what he'd done, from creating that poison for what turned out to have been HYDRA. In a way I think he was even afraid of facing you."

"Me?", Coulson replied in surprise, his eyebrows raised slightly as he leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure he still considered you his friend, too, but he also thought that you would have been glad if we had left him behind once you found out what he did. That you wouldn't understand it," Hunter explained, watching the director carefully, curious to see his reaction.

Coulson remained quiet for a moment, as he seemed to think about what to reply to this. The fact that Robert Hunter was dead now, surely made it a lot easier to forgive his actions in the past, but even without that, the agent couldn't imagine turning his back on him, even after what he had done. After all, he hadn't betrayed SHIELD for power, like John Garrett had done, or even, in fact, betrayed anyone at all, he had simply used the only opportunity he had seen left to save his wife, although clearly ignoring the moral consequences of his work in the process.

But Coulson had known both Robert and Katharine Hunter very well, had seen firsthand how much they had loved each other, and how much his friend had suffered from the mere idea of losing her, and in the end there was no part of him left that couldn't sympathise with what he had done, trying to save her. And so he answered the mercenary accordingly.

"But I do understand it, and I wish Robert would have known that. But I guess I was a different man the last time I met your father, less… forgiving maybe."

"Yeah, that's what I told him, too. That you would give him a second chance, 'cause that's kind of what you do." Hunter fell silent after this for a moment, desperately wanting to talk about anything else but his father now, but first needing to know something else, something that had been on his mind for the last few hours.

"So what's going to happen now? With my dad's body and everything, I mean. Did somebody find him already? What about the funeral? He needs to be buried next to my mum, but I'm sure he has already taken care of all the paperwork and whatnot, so-", but now Coulson finally interrupted the younger man, a compassionate expression on his face.

"Don't worry about that, I have somebody on site taking care of everything. With all the shooting and Trip landing the Quinjet in the middle of the neighbourhood, the police was at your father's house within minutes, but HYDRA was already gone. Talbot's pulling a few strings to have the investigation closed quickly, and in the morning I'll have a team there searching the place to make sure Robert didn't have any more valuable intel hidden.

There will be a small funeral in two days, but with HYDRA this aggressive at the moment, I won't allow any SHIELD personnel to take part in it, I hope you understand that. And of course he'll be buried next to Katharine, they've been apart for far too long already," Coulson finished, his own sadness about his friend's death catching up with him once more.

Hunter nodded in reply, needing a moment to say anything, as he was clearly getting choked up himself now, too. In an effort not to face Coulson directly, he leaned forward slightly and picked up the small hourglass that was standing on the director's desk, turning it around in his hands absentmindedly.

"Good. But what are you planning to do about HYDRA? Do you have any new leads? What about that guy my dad mentioned, the one who recruited him, Agent Hawkins, he's HYDRA, right?", the mercenary suddenly asked, catching Coulson slightly off guard.

"Yes, we think so. And by my guess, pretty high up the food chain, too."

"Alright, so did you have any luck finding him yet?", Hunter wanted to know, wondering what progress the team had made during his absence.

"No, we're still looking for him," Coulson admitted grudgingly, but then continued in a more optimistic tone. "Skye is currently working on the laptop of the dead man you just saw downstairs, Ryan Andrews, as we believe he has a connection to the attacks from last night. Apparently he was working for HYDRA himself, but he was on the run from them when he was killed, so we're hoping that his computer might clear up a few questions we still have, especially about HYDRA's motives at this point. So far, it seems that they're taking out anyone who's a threat to them, be it a unit of soldiers attacking them or anyone with too much information about them, who could become a loose thread."

"Like my father," Hunter continued Coulson's line of thought, his expression darkening for a second, before he forced himself to go on, not wanting to dwell on his death any longer. "Or the lab where he worked on the poison in the first place. Bobbi told you that it had been destroyed in a fire, right?", he asked, waiting for the director to nod in agreement.

"Yes, she did, and going by what we know about HYDRA, it does seem very likely that they burned down the building themselves, to destroy any evidence of the work they had done there, and to get rid of any of the scientists, who weren't loyal to the cause." But at this point, Hunter's brow furrowed slightly, as he didn't like what this line of thought was implying.

"Then what about my dad? He said he wasn't there, because Mum had another seizure, but if that's true, why wouldn't they have just killed him later?" He was obviously worried that his father had lied to him after all, about his involvement with HYDRA, but Coulson's reply did manage to alleviate most of that again.

"They could have, of course, but I guess in the end it was a matter of risk assessment. A few SHIELD scientists dying in a fire is one thing to explain, but to have another, even though officially former agent, who just happened to live in the same city, die a few days later, that could have raised more questions than they would have liked, and as Robert wasn't going to go around advertising the work he had done, it must have seemed like a smarter move to let him live at the time," the director theorised, although it did seem like a credible explanation for the fact that HYDRA had never made another attempt on the scientist's life until today.

"But now that they started using his poison in larger attacks, they must have decided to correct that oversight to stop him from revealing what he knew," Hunter went on in a constricted tone, unsure of what to think about the apparent fact that his father's death had already been decided before he had even started his trip to England.

"Yes," Coulson agreed. "The plan must have been to see if Robert had any intel on the project left and then to kill not just him, but you and Bobbi as well. But you got out of there and you brought the data back your father had saved for a situation like this, so don't forget that HYDRA didn't win today. And they're not going to, either."

"I know," Hunter replied in return, the look on his face becoming more impassive again, as he did his best to hide his emotions once more, as he finally came to the main reason why he had wanted to talk to Coulson in the first place. "I'm sure it's just a matter of time until Skye digs something up, or we find some other lead, but when it's time to go after the people behind all this, I want to be there. I'm a part of your field team, so whatever our next step is going to be, that's where I want to be, out in the field, alright?", he asked, looking at the director hopefully.

But while Coulson obviously wasn't surprised by this request, he didn't seem particularly happy about it, either.

"I know that you want to get back out there, Hunter, but I'm not sure if that is a good idea. I think we both still remember vividly what happened the last time you lost someone close to you and I let you go after the man responsible. You didn't just screw up the entire operation, and risked a large group of civilians in the process, you also almost got yourself killed." He knew that this wasn't what the mercenary wanted to hear, but the director still continued resolutely, trying to convince the younger man that it was for the best if he listened to him for once.

"You just lost your own father today, and something like that doesn't happen without leaving its mark on you, Hunter. Take some time, deal with it, and then we can talk about you getting back into the field, okay?", Coulson asked hopefully, although a part of him already knew that the mercenary wasn't going to accept that proposal, as he was simply too stubborn for his own good sometimes.

Hunter looked back at the agent for a moment, trying to think of a way to change his mind, but quickly realised that there would be little point in attempting to convince him that his father's death hadn't affected him. Of course Coulson hadn't seemed to notice just how badly he was really doing at the moment, but at the same time, his emotional condition didn't even seem to be the director's main concern. He was just afraid that the events of a few months ago could repeat themselves now, and that Hunter would endanger himself or the team once more to get his revenge.

But despite the fact that he obviously wanted to get the people responsible for his father's death, revenge actually wasn't his main motivation right now and the situation clearly wasn't the same as before, he just had to make Coulson understand that, no matter how difficult or even painful that would be.

"Did I ever tell you what happened right after the car crash that killed Hartley and Idaho?", Hunter finally asked after another long moment, his voice clearly revealing how much he hated talking about this, and his fingers gripping the small hourglass tightly.

Coulson briefly scrutinised him in return, his brow furrowing slightly as he wasn't sure what exactly the mercenary was getting at, but in the end he obviously decided to play along for now as he replied slowly.

"I know what happened. After he had caused the collision, Carl Creel escaped with the obelisk. A short time later, Agent May got to your position, but she couldn't free you in time, because you were trapped in the car. She went after Creel while you were captured by General Talbot's men and he later made you an offer to turn me in, in exchange for two million dollars," the director recalled the events of that day, still not understanding what any of this had to do with their current situation. But going by the look on Hunter's face, he didn't consider any of these things relevant, either, even though he was nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, yeah, that's all true, but that's not what I mean. I mean right afterwards, after the car had stopped spinning and was just lying there on the street, a flipped-over pile of junk, with Izzy and Idaho dead, and me trapped in there like an animal ready for slaughter." The look in the young man's eyes seemed almost haunted as he stared directly at his superior now, forcing himself to relive these minutes once more as he seemed absolutely certain that he could only convince the director to give him another chance, if he made him understand how different the circumstances were this time.

Coulson returned his steady gaze, leaning back in his chair as he was listening to the mercenary's story intently. He had of course read Hunter's report about the entire incident before, but according to that, he had barely been able to remember the minutes right after the accident, until Agent May had found him, due to the injuries he himself had sustained during the crash. And given how horrific the entire thing had been, leaving two people dead instantly, Coulson had never had a reason to doubt that statement.

Until today.

"No, I don't think you ever shared any of the details of what happened between the crash and May getting to the scene. In fact, I think you even denied remembering anything in your report on the incident."

"'_Incident'_, yeah, right," Hunter repeated the word sarcastically, finding it almost insulting how such a vague and innocent sounding word could be used for something as catastrophic and horrible as the sudden deaths of two of his best friends. But as he wasn't here to argue semantics with Coulson, he quickly continued, focusing back on the subject at hand.

"Well, now that we're being all honest with each other, I guess I can admit that that part of the report was a lie. I was wide awake during and after the crash, I remember all of it perfectly," he admitted, causing the frown on Coulson's face to deepen.

"But then why lie?", the director asked uncomprehendingly, scrutinising the man in front of him thoroughly. "What happened that you didn't want anyone to know about?"

"Not much happened, really," Hunter replied with a weak shrug, preparing himself to confess what he had done that day. Or rather, what he hadn't done. "Izzy was lying dead next to me, and while I couldn't be sure about Idaho right away, there wasn't a peep coming from him, so I already figured that he was gone, too. Then I saw Creel approaching the car and I…", he hesitated a moment, anger and bitterness darkening his features as he finally forced himself to say it out loud. "I did nothing. I played dead and I let the guy, who had just killed two of my friends get away with it."

Understanding dawned on Coulson's face, as he looked back at the younger man, finally beginning to realise why he was bringing all of this up again, although he didn't quite agree with the blame he was obviously still putting on himself for what had happened.

"You were incredibly lucky to get out of that crash as relatively unharmed as you did," the director pointed out, leaning forward in his seat again, resting his arms on the desk. "You were trapped and on your own against a man, who has the power to turn himself into stone. Hunter, what exactly do you think you could have done differently?"

"I could have shot him for instance," the mercenary replied matter-of-factly as he slammed the hourglass back on the table angrily, completely ignoring Coulson's obvious attempt at alleviating his guilt. "I still had my gun, and Creel didn't even check the inside of the car. I could have shot him while he was walking away and he never would have known what hit him, but I was just too afraid to do it. I don't know, I guess a part of me thought that it wouldn't work, but I should have tried. For Izzy and for Idaho I _definitely_ should have tried," Hunter finished resolutely, both his expression and the tone of his voice leaving no doubt about how much he was still blaming himself for his inaction that day even now, months later.

The director wasn't sure if this had actually been weighing this heavily on the younger man over all this time, or if losing his father had just brought the pain back to the surface, but he could easily see how vivid the deaths of his friends still were for him.

"So that was why you were so desperate to take him out later, wasn't it?", Coulson asked thoughtfully, even though he already knew the answer.

"Yeah. I made a mistake not killing Creel when I had the chance, so I had to make that right, no matter what. I guess shooting the others was probably a little extreme," he pointedly ignored Coulson's raised eyebrows at this, "and I know I'm lucky that May actually waited for me to wear a vest before paying me back, but at the time, it was the only thing I could do. It was my mistake, and I had to fix it, it was that simple." Hunter's expression was hard and decisive as he looked at his superior, waiting for him to reply something. But as Coulson finally answered, he was obviously still not sure why the mercenary had shared all this with him.

"Alright, I get that, I really do, even though I don't agree with it, but how exactly is this story supposed to convince me to let you go up against HYDRA once we manage to track them down? Hunter, I understand your desire to avenge your father, believe me, I do, but after what happened last time, I'm not going to let you take advantage of my sympathy again, you have to know that, right?"

The mercenary nodded in reply, although he wasn't ready to accept this as the director's final verdict.

"Yeah, I do, but the thing is, this isn't the same as last time. It really isn't," he added as he saw Coulson's sceptical expression.

"Back in that car I had a loaded gun and the element of surprise against just one man, and even though I might have been a little rattled from the crash, I'm still sure I could have taken him, if I hadn't been too afraid to risk it. But this time there was nothing I could have done.

HYDRA had a sniper in position and a full assault team coming after us, while I didn't even have a weapon, and…" he hesitated once more, unsure about how much he should tell Coulson about the events that had followed his father's death, but ultimately decided that Bobbi had most likely told him already anyway. "And honestly, I'd say that even after doing a triple somersault in the car, and probably hitting my head against everything in there about a dozen times, I had still been in a better condition then, than I was after my dad got shot. If it hadn't been for Bobbi, I'd be dead now, too, and there was absolutely nothing either of us could have done to prevent what happened or to take out the HYDRA team on the ground, without getting us both killed as well."

Hunter was looking at the director almost imploringly, trying to make him understand that while he had screwed up during the operation to capture Creel, he wasn't going to act that irrationally again. Or at least he wasn't planning to.

"I know you think that this operation has become too personal for me and I admit that I want to find the people responsible for all of this, but this isn't about revenge and it definitely isn't about me fixing a mistake. Or at least not my own."

At this point Coulson's expression became slightly puzzled as he looked at the mercenary, not sure what he was alluding to.

"What do you mean, 'not your own'?", he asked, one eyebrow raised, causing Hunter to sigh grudgingly and look down at his hands for a moment, clearly uncomfortable.

"A lot of good people are dead and no matter how you look at it, or how understandable his motives might have been, my dad was right in the centre of all of this. Of course I get why he did what he did, he was trying to save my mum's life after all, but he took the stuff that was killing her and he turned it into an even more dangerous weapon, not even caring who he was working for. Or as Bobbi put it, he took something completely horrible and he actually managed to make it worse." At this point Hunter faced Coulson directly again, looking at him with the same intense expression in his eyes that reminded the director so much of his father in his younger days.

"Now HYDRA is out there killing people with that poison my dad created and that has his name, my family's name, written all over it. I'm not completely stupid, so you won't have to worry about me planning to go on some one-man rampage against HYDRA, or that I would ever risk the team again, but I want to be a part of this operation. I want to help make this right again. I have to, for my family." At this point the mercenary finally fell silent, having made his case the best he could and hoping that it hadn't been in vain, while he waited for the director to make his decision.

Coulson studied the young man in front of him for a long moment, obviously considering his request thoroughly. He could of course understand his situation and even had to admit that his explanation had sounded surprisingly reasonable, but he still wasn't entirely convinced that letting him go out into the field again anytime soon would be a wise decision. But then again, under the current circumstances he wasn't exactly sure if an unwise decision would automatically have to be a bad one, too.

"After we managed to take down Creel _despite_ your rash personal interference, you pretty much warned me that you might try to take advantage of my sympathy for you again if I let you stay with SHIELD, so how do I know this isn't you doing exactly that?", he asked, curiously waiting for the mercenary to reply. But Hunter just shrugged, not really knowing what else he could possibly say to his defence at this point.

"You can't, I guess. You're just gonna have to trust that I won't do anything completely stupid and that while I might sometimes play fast and loose with my own safety, I would _never_ do anything that could endanger Bobbi, Skye, May or any of the others. I know I'm not a SHIELD agent, but I'm a part of this team and this time, I promise I'll follow my orders. I just don't want to be left standing at the touch line, doing nothing," the mercenary explained honestly, inwardly begging Coulson to just make up his mind already, as he was getting tired of this argument.

And after taking another long look at Hunter, the director finally nodded, prompting the young man to take a relieved breath.

"Alright. This operation is still all-hands-on-deck, which includes you as well, Hunter, but unless you want me having you stay inside the base running back-end, you better remember that promise. You'll follow my or May's orders to a T, or at the first sign of you going out of line-"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, I'm grounded. Don't worry, I'll behave myself this time," the mercenary declared as he stood up from his chair again and headed towards the door, only to be held back by Coulson once again.

"Good. But Hunter," the director began, causing the mercenary to turn around to him one more time.

"Yeah?"

"Go and get some rest now. You've been through hell today and you really look like you need it."

Caught off guard by the friendly advice, the mercenary simply nodded in return, before finally leaving Coulson's office, already feeling how this simple remark was scratching at the image of himself he was portraying for everyone else at the moment, of the focused professional, who couldn't be thrown off his game by anything, not even by losing his own father.

But now that he had Coulson's okay for remaining a part of the operation against HYDRA, Hunter knew that he had to find a way to deal with his loss and the pain that was accompanying it, before he became a liability to anyone on his team. The only problem was just that he had absolutely no idea what to do, or even where to start. Not since he had pushed away the only person willing and able to help him.

**To be continued…**

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><p><strong>AN: Extra cookies for everyone who reviews both chapters!**


	17. Can You Sleep?

**A/N: **So I originally planned to post this scene and the previous one as a single chapter, but as Hunter's talk with Coulson turned out waaaay longer than I had expected, and this scene was already finished, I figured, why not just post two chapters in one night? But this has really been a sh#tload of work, so don't forget to leave a review, alright? ;)

**I REALLY HOPE YOU ALL REALISE THAT I UPDATED TWO NEW CHAPTERS!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 17: Can You Sleep?<strong>

Hunter wasn't sure how long it had been since he was staring up at the dark ceiling somewhere above him, but he knew that it had probably been just an hour or two, and not the eternity it had felt like. But now that he was lying in bed, without anything left to distract him, the events of the day and all the revelations that had accompanied them were keeping him awake, playing out in his mind over and over again.

Not that he was actually looking forward to sleep much, at least not to the dreams that he was sure wouldn't be far behind, but while his thoughts were still going a hundred miles per hour, his body was completely exhausted by now, wanting nothing more than to finally get some rest after this seemingly endless day.

He ran a hand across his face wearily, cringing slightly as his palm ran across the bruise on his cheek he had all but forgotten about with everything else that had happened, but which was still there, reminding him of the beating he had received just this morning and making him wish that that physical pain would be the only thing he would have to deal with at the moment.

Hunter knew of course that it didn't have to be like this, that he didn't have to be here alone, lying in the dark, trying futilely to fight his demons by himself. No, if he hadn't been such an asshole to her earlier, he could have gone over to Bobbi's room hours ago, knowing that she was the only one who could possibly help him right now – aside from a handful of drugs from Simmons maybe, if he were already more desperate – and that she wouldn't turn him away after everything he had gone through today. But after the callous and almost cruel way he had talked to her just a few hours ago and had dismissed her obvious concern for him, he knew that he couldn't ask for her help now, no matter how desperately he needed it.

Over the years this had turned into some kind of ritual between them, to support each other when one of them had been in an operation that had gone really, _really_ bad, but it had all begun a few months into their relationship, before they had even been living together, when Bobbi had been out on an assignment and Hunter had been at home in his apartment, waiting for her to come back.

The plan had been for her to give him a call once she had been on her way back into town, but even though it had already been way past the ETA she had given him, he hadn't been overly concerned at first, given the fact that he had known well enough how easily a mission schedule could be delayed for a whole bunch of reasons, without actually anything bad happening. But when someone had suddenly knocked on his door in the middle of the night, he had to admit, that for a moment he had been afraid that there would be a nameless SHIELD agent standing there, waiting to deliver bad news.

To Hunter's immense relief, that hadn't been the case though, as Bobbi herself had been standing in the corridor in front of his apartment, but going by the shape in which she had been, he had known that it wouldn't have taken much more, for his fear to become reality.

Her face and body had been covered in bruises, her left arm and wrist broken and there had been a thick bandage covering a bullet hole in her shoulder, which had later left a scar that he knew was still there. A part of the mercenary had even wondered how she had been able to keep herself upright, but going by the few things Bobbi had said that night, he had gathered that she had insisted on being released from SHIELD's medical care once she had been patched up, wanting nothing more than to return home, to _him_, despite her doctor's objections.

Even now Hunter still didn't know much about the actual mission his ex-wife had been on at the time, just that her team had been made and that they had lost two agents, two of her friends, in the process, and that Bobbi's condition after their return hadn't even been the worst.

That night, when she had turned up on his doorstep, the look in her eyes haunted by what she had seen, her hands still shaking every time she had thought he wasn't looking, he had led her to his bed, not really knowing what else to do, and just laid next to her, before finally pulling her into his arms carefully to reassure her with his mere physical presence.

Wrapped inside the warm blanket, the most sexual thing that had happened that night, aside from the closeness of their bodies, had been a tender kiss or two to her forehead, as Bobbi had been far too weak and exhausted to even be looking for anything else, and Hunter had been far too concerned about her condition, but it had still been one of the most intimate moments of their entire relationship and actually still was.

Eventually Bobbi had gotten to return the favour, when Hunter had lost one of his team mates during a job, and from then on it hadn't even mattered if they had been together at the time or not, if one of them had needed help dealing with the horrible things their jobs had exposed them to, they had always known that the other's door would be open, no questions asked.

Sighing, Hunter contemplated once again if he shouldn't just go over to his ex-wife's room and apologise for his rude behaviour, but in a way he was afraid that if he only did that now, right before asking for her help, it would seem insincere, as if he were just trying to take advantage of her, and he didn't want to risk that.

Bobbi had been his anchor in all of this, from the moment he had stepped out of Coulson's office early this afternoon, and as thanks for that, he had treated her like shit, practically ridiculed her concern for him and simply turned away her offer to help him deal with his pain over his father's death. No, at this point Hunter knew that if he wanted to make amends for his horrible behaviour, he had to do it properly, which also meant not waking the agent in the middle of the night with a rushed apology, only to beg her to save his sorry ass once more, before he went absolutely crazy, left on his own.

Sitting up in his bed now in frustration, Hunter ran his hands through his hair for a moment, trying to focus on something, anything really that didn't involve images of his dying father or people being killed by the poison he had created, but his efforts were to no avail. Sighing, he reached over to the bedside table and turned on the small lamp there, before getting up and heading over to the bathroom, eager to get out of his bed, even if only for a moment. But once he came back into the room, the prospect of lying down again immediately, didn't sound particularly inviting, either, and so Hunter opened the large trunk that was standing at the end of his bed, courtesy of SHIELD, and which he used to store a random collection of some of his old stuff.

He wasn't a very sentimental person and didn't keep a lot of mementos, unlike a certain director he knew, but he vaguely remembered holding onto something his mother had sent him some time after he had completely broken off any contact with her and especially his father.

After about a minute of rummaging through old magazines, papers, DVDs he hadn't watched in ages and other stuff he barely remembered why he was keeping it, Hunter finally found what he was looking for, an old picture of his family, taken some time after his eighth birthday, if he wasn't mistaken.

His parents had taken him to a football match that day to celebrate, and while he had been angry at first that they had missed the actual date, once again, he had ended up having so much fun that day that he had completely forgotten about all of that, as could be seen all too clearly in the big smile he was sporting in the picture, his mother and father next to him, laughing as if none of them had any care in the world.

Hunter had set down on the ground now, leaning with his back against the bed frame, and ran his thumb across the picture gently, trying to hold on to the memory.

When his mother had sent him the photograph in an effort to get him to come back home, or at least not keep ignoring her phone calls any longer, he had actually been close to just tossing it in the trash, feeling that it had been a cheap attempt on her part to ignore all the bad things that had happened between them as well, but for some reason he had changed his mind and put it in one of his drawers instead, forgetting all about it soon afterwards.

Or at least it had remained forgotten, until the day that Hunter had come back to his own place, after having spent the previous few weeks at his parents' house, saying his goodbye to his mother. Not even twenty-four hours had passed since her funeral, as he had come through the door of his apartment, and it hadn't been long until he had begun to wonder if he even possessed any pictures of the deceased woman. When he had finally remembered the old photograph, he had searched for it immediately and had even ended up framing it, after he hadn't so much as bothered looking at it for years.

After that, the picture had been standing on his dresser for a while, until the initial pain over his loss had subsided again, and his anger had come back, maybe even stronger than before. Anger at his father for still holding onto his damn secrets about SHIELD, even now, anger at his mother, for keeping her condition from him for as long as she had, but also anger at himself, for not realising how desperately she had been reaching out to him, and what precious time he had been throwing away by ignoring her. And as the photograph had been an all too vivid reminder of all that anger, he had ultimately put it away again, eager to close the chapter of his family once and for all.

Looking at the happy faces staring back at him right now, Hunter couldn't help but feel a sudden twinge of pity for all three people in the photograph, as he was sure that back then, all of them had expected things to stay the way they had been that day.

His younger self had thought that his parents would find a way to work less, to spend more time with him again, and that the vague notion he had just begun to have, that they hadn't always been honest with him, had been nothing more than his imagination, but in the years following that picture, he had ended up being disappointed over and over again, until he had barely be able to trust anyone anymore, let alone those closest to him.

His mother, a picture of health that day, had certainly not expected to spend the last six years of her life inching closer to death every day, unable to do the work she had loved so much and her own son unwilling to even talk to her, and yet that had been her fate in the end. And while Hunter was still sad about her death, he couldn't help but clench his free hand into a fist in anger without even noticing, as he remembered that she had kept the truth cause of her condition from him, even as she had been about to die, that she had still chosen to lie to him, although she had pretended to be honest with him just that once.

And his father, who had proudly wrapped his arms around his family in the picture, had not only lost his wife and the respect of his son, but had also become a creator of death and pain on behalf of HYDRA, no matter how good his reason for that had been or how much he had despised his work.

As the hurt and desperation he was feeling about his father's death started mixing once again with the anger about his actions, Hunter's right hand tensed up now as well, his fingers cracking the glass protecting the photograph. He let out a cry of frustration as he ultimately flung the picture against the wall forcefully, causing the glass to shatter and the wooden frame to burst open loudly, and while the pieces cluttered to the floor, the mercenary buried his face in his hands, trying to calm himself, even though he already knew that his efforts would be in vain.

But as there was suddenly a soft knock on the door a few moments later, he looked up again, visibly startled, until his eyes fell on the broken picture frame once again.

"Shit," Hunter muttered, as he quickly scrambled back to his feet, remembering that Skye's room was right next door from his and that he had most likely woken her up now by throwing stuff against her wall in the middle of the night.

But as he had made it to the door and opened it quickly, wearing nothing more than an old t-shirt and a pair of boxers, it wasn't the woman he had expected, who was standing in front of him now, scrutinising him thoughtfully.

"Bobbi!", Hunter greeted her, obviously caught completely off guard by her being here. "What… Why are you…", he began, only to trail off every time he started a new question, causing the blond woman in front of him to smile slightly. She was wearing a long pyjama with a white t-shirt underneath the open jacket, her bare feet shifting slightly on the cold floor.

"Can you sleep?", she asked softly, even though she could easily see the answer for herself, but after a moment's hesitation, Hunter actually did reply to her, even if just by a faint shake of his head.

"I could come in if you want me to," Bobbi now offered and after a few more seconds, her ex-husband finally nodded, taking a deep breath in obvious relief.

"Please," he merely uttered as he stepped aside to allow Bobbi to come in, and as she took his hand and led him over to the bed, Hunter couldn't remember the last time he had ever been this grateful to anyone.

**To be continued…**


	18. I'm Here For You

**A/N:** I know I took rather long to update this time, and the chapter is very short, too, but I'm so busy at the moment, that I really didn't have any more time to write. Hopefully that will change again next month, when I plan to update my other stories, especially 'So Long' again as well.

Considering that there are no new eps at the moment, I've been looking over at youtube to get my Huntingbird fix, and if you don't mind being reduced to a mess of tears, you definitely have to check out the vid "White Sparrows" by MusicalWheaten. It is utterly beautiful and amazing, but it also kind of destroyed me. :( I hope something like that never ever happens on the show!

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><p><strong>Chapter 18: I'm Here For You<strong>

Bobbi had already slipped underneath the warm blanket, as Hunter slowly laid down next to her, and while it was simply due to the fact that his bed had not been designed for two people, that they ended up lying so incredibly close to each other, it didn't seem as if either of them minded very much. But if Hunter was being honest with himself, he knew that he was far too messed up at the moment anyway to be thinking of this situation as in any way romantic, no matter for how long a part of him had been hoping to have his ex-wife in his bed once again.

But the mercenary could tell that Bobbi's presence was already having a calming effect on him, even though she hadn't said anything yet, since she had entered his room, and it immediately reminded him of how good they could be together, when they weren't busy driving each other up the wall.

At some point during their marriage, when he hadn't been able to tolerate his wife's constant lies and secrets any longer, and she had become fed up with him questioning everything she did, they had developed the increasingly destructive tendency to turn almost every conversation into a fight, which had somehow even become worse after their divorce.

But despite all of that, despite their seemingly endless list of problems, and no matter how much he usually tried to deny this, there was actually nobody in this world that Hunter trusted more than Bobbi, and he knew that if there was anyone who could possibly help him put himself back together after everything he had been through today, it was her.

"I didn't think you'd come here," he suddenly admitted, looking at the blond agent with remorseful eyes, knowing that he hadn't done anything to deserve her taking care of him like this. Bobbi just shrugged weakly in reply, her mouth twitching slightly, as she kept looking back at her ex, her blue eyes never leaving his.

"Honestly, I was kind of expecting _you_ to show up at _my_ door, but eventually I figured you weren't going to. But despite of what I said earlier, I still wanted to make sure you were alright," she answered softly as she raised her hand and, without even thinking about it, traced her fingers over the stubble on Hunter's cheek in an all too familiar gesture.

Unconsciously closing his eyes in response, the mercenary gently took Bobbi's hand in his and held it against the side of his face as he vaguely thought just how much he had missed her touch. But then he swallowed hard as he remembered the reason why he hadn't gone over to his ex-wife's room in the first place, and his expression darkened as he looked at her once more.

"Bob, I'm sorry for what I said to you outside the lab. And for how I said it. You've been doing nothing but saving me today, first from having to face my dad by myself, then from _killing_ him myself," he joked weakly, only for the smile to die on his lips instantly even before he continued, "you saved me from being taken out by HYDRA as well and now you're even still busy saving me from my own bloody stupidity. I know I should have thanked you for all of that a hundred times already, and I didn't. Instead I've been acting like a bloody arsehole and treated you like you were the enemy, but I really am sorry for that," Hunter finished, for a moment unsure how to interpret the expression on Bobbi's face as she looked back at him now, completely quiet for a moment.

But then a warm smile spread on her lips as she freed her hand from Hunter's hold and propped herself up a little, scrutinising the mercenary even more thoroughly.

"I know you're sorry, and trust me, it's okay," Bobbi declared in a forgiving tone, but as she noticed the surprised and almost disbelieving look Hunter was giving her now, the agent quickly elaborated, the smile on her lips turning into an almost teasing grin. "What, did you really think that today of all days I would expect you to stop being a stubborn idiot, Hunter?"

He knew of course that she was only trying to lighten up the mood, but the mercenary couldn't really bring himself to follow Bobbi's example and look past his earlier horrible behaviour towards her quite this quickly. Instead he stared back at her now, shaking his head incredulously.

"Alright, I get that you're willing to cut me some slack after the day that I've had, but you can't honestly expect me to believe you're not mad after the way I treated you earlier. I think I know you better than that, Bobbi," Hunter pointed out, but instead of giving him a direct answer, the agent looked at him with an understanding expression, as she replied with a question of her own.

"Hunter, do you remember the night after I came back from that mission in Manila?", she wondered, but of course they both knew that she didn't even have to ask. Bobbi's assignment in Manila, one of the toughest she had ever been on, had been about three months into their marriage, practically still in their honeymoon phase, and while on the outside the agent had gotten away with barely a scratch, she had been plagued by vivid nightmares for weeks afterwards, with the first night having been arguably the worst.

"You mean when I tried to wake you from a nightmare, and you almost broke my arm and actually dislocated my shoulder in response?", Hunter asked with a small grin on his lips, as if this was somehow a fond memory to him.

"Yeah, that night," Bobbi replied sheepishly, obviously still feeling bad about the incident, even though it had been years ago. "I really hurt you back then, I know that, and I wish it hadn't happened, but I couldn't control my reaction. I was trying to protect myself without even realising it, and because you were the only one close to me, you ended up getting hurt for all your trouble."

"And now you're saying I've been doing the same," Hunter sighed, completing Bobbi's obvious line of thought, even though he didn't seem to be completely convinced yet.

There was a soft smile on her lips, as the agent rested her right hand on the mercenary's chest, but the look in her eyes was incredibly sad as she continued.

"Hunter, there is no 'right' way how to deal with what you've been through, how to handle this kind of loss, but I know that just pushing it away and pretending like you don't care what happened isn't going to help you. Of course I also know that you don't like other people seeing you hurt, but I'm not 'other people', alright?" At this point, Bobbi scooted over to cross the remaining distance between them and wrapped her arms around her ex tightly, her lips right next to his ear as she continued softly.

"I want to help you, so whatever you need, I'm here for you, okay? I'll always be here for you, Lance, don't ever forget that!" The mercenary had returned her embrace by now and was holding Bobbi in his arms tightly, glad that she couldn't see the expression on his face, as he felt the last remains of his composure slipping away.

And when he finally spoke, his voice was so quiet, it was barely audible, even in the silence of the room.

"I hated him, you know?", Hunter admitted, knowing that this time he owed Bobbi the whole truth and not some evasive bullshit, like he had given her last time. "Ever since I was a teenager, we did nothing but fight, he was the main reason why I basically never went home again once I had left for the army, and when Mum died, a part of me wished it would have been him instead. So why the bloody hell does it even hurt so much that he's dead now?", he asked, desperately needing to know the answer, as his hold on Bobbi became even stronger and he buried his face against the side of her neck, shaking slightly.

As the blond woman ran one hand through his short hair soothingly, she briefly wondered if Hunter was really prepared to hear her reply to his question, but then she figured that while it would surely not be easy to hear, it might actually help him in the end, and so she went on with what she wanted to say.

"Because there are never just bad memories, right?" she asked, feeling Hunter tense in her arms. "He was your dad and even though I barely knew him, I could tell that despite all of his faults, he loved you incredibly much, so I know that there must have been good moments between you two as well. And now it's too late to fix your problems. There'll never be any more good moments between you, or even bad ones. Now he's just..."

"Gone," Hunter finished Bobbi' sentence for her, his voice breaking as her words were hitting him a lot harder than he would have liked.

He was holding onto his ex-wife almost desperately now, as the full extent of his loss was threatening to overwhelm him and the pain was becoming too much to bear. And as if his father's death hadn't been horrible enough, Hunter suddenly thought back to his earlier conversation with Coulson, and how they had talked about the deaths of Izzy and Idaho. And even though it was actually pretty obvious, only now he finally realised how similar the situation a few months ago had been, how he hadn't been able to say goodbye to his friends, either, and how their sudden and completely unexpected loss had left him reeling, unable to cope with it by himself.

Hunter took a shaky breath as he slowly pulled back from Bobbi's embrace, but just far enough, so he could look at her properly. He could tell that she immediately noticed the vulnerable expression and the tears in his eyes, but she didn't say anything and just waited for him to speak, which he finally did after a long moment of silence.

"I didn't talk to my dad in five years and then the last thing I said to him was, that he was responsible for the murders that HYDRA commited, that the blood of those people was on his hands, too. And when Izzy died, I had just cut off her arm to save her, because that bloody obelisk thing was killing her, but I didn't even take a second to tell her how important she was to me, that I didn't want to lose her." Hunter fell silent for a second to take another deep breath, steadier this time, then brought one hand up to Bobbi's face, cupping her cheek gently.

"Bob, if anything ever happens to either of us, I don't want there to be things left unsaid. I want you to know how-", he began, but was suddenly cut off mid-sentence by Bobbi's soft lips on his. Hunter's breath caught in his throat at the sensation, but before he could react to the kiss in any way, the blond woman in his arms had already pulled back again and was looking at him now with an expression in her eyes he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Trust me, Lance, I already know. And if either of us ever does die out there, there won't be anything left unsaid, because we've already said it, a hundred, a thousand times before." Then Bobbi gave him another kiss, but just a tender one to his forehead this time, before she shifted her position, so that she ended up with her head resting against Hunter's shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around him.

The mercenary sighed deeply as he returned the embrace, his cheek resting against Bobbi's head, her blond hair tingling slightly against his lips. He knew that for some reason, she didn't want him to talk about his feelings for her right now, but as he was holding her in his arms like this, he couldn't help but be reminded of a time when she had still been his, and it hadn't taken him falling apart for her to share his bed with him.

In the end his lips moved without him even thinking about it, but the words that came out were so soft, they weren't even a whisper, and Hunter doubted, that Bobbi had even been able to hear them.

"I love you."

**To be continued...**

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><p><strong>AN: Going by the viewer numbers I got back for the previous two chapters, I have the strong impression that not everyone realised I updated chapters 16 and 17 back to back. So if you missed Hunter's talk with Coulson, you might want to rectify that, because that'll be important in future chapters!**


	19. Start Over

**A/N:** As I think I haven't done this in a while, I really want to thank everyone again who has shown their support for this fanfiction either by following or favoriting it, and of course especially those who took the time to leave a review. I'm sure this story would not be where it is right now without all my regulars (you guys know who you are and I seriously love you all!) keeping me going and while it definitely has an almost frightening low amount of readers, especially compared to some of my Skyward stories, the reader/review ratio is actually up to ten times bigger for 'Poison' than it is for 'So Long' for example (NOT a made-up number, I wish it were…). So what I'm trying to say is, you guys are awesome, and your support means more to me than you can imagine! :)

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><p>Another Huntingbird chapter, but I think from the next chapter on, things are going to heat up again concerning the HYDRA plotline.<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 19: Start Over <strong>

Kissing Hunter had not been part of the plan.

Half an hour ago, when Bobbi had still been lying in her own bed, contemplating whether or not to go over to her ex-husband's bunk to offer him her support once again, despite his earlier stubborn insistence that he was alright, she had finally decided to do so with the strict resolve not to act on any of the impulses she had known she would have once she allowed herself to get this close to him again.

In the past these moments of comfort between them, while obviously incredibly intimate, had never led to anything more sexual, but as they had always either been in a relationship together at the time anyway, or at least been sleeping with each other on and off, that had never really been a problem for either of them.

But now it had been far too long since Bobbi had felt Hunter's strong arms around her like this, his body pressed against hers, and only the fact that she knew he was in pain, even though it was emotional and not physical in nature, had stopped her so far from being all over him. The most important thing for her now was that she wanted to be there for him, to help him deal with his trauma, just like he had done for her several times in the past, and she knew that this way worked best for both of them, but she also couldn't deny that a part of her was longing for this to be more, that she wanted to be with Hunter and not just as his moral support.

Bobbi had just settled next to the mercenary, still in his arms, with her head resting against his shoulder, and as she could feel him leaning with his cheek against the top of her head, his words from just moments ago kept replaying in her mind over and over again.

_"Bob, if anything ever happens to either of us, I don't want there to be things left unsaid. I want you to know how-",_

She had been so caught off guard by his impending confession, that cutting him off with a kiss had been the only thing she had been able to think of at the time, but Bobbi was still kicking herself mentally for that impulsive action, because now her lips were still tingling from the sensation, and deep down she wanted nothing more than to kiss him again, and to tell him that yes, she did know exactly what he had been going to say, because she felt it, too.

It wasn't something she liked to admit to herself, and she definitely wasn't ready to say it to Hunter yet, but she still loved him just as much as she had always had, and for the first time in a very long time, there was no anger or frustration clouding her feelings for him. If the circumstances at the moment had just been different, Bobbi was sure that they would already be well on their way to getting back together again, but as it was, she was determined to keep their relationship strictly platonic, at least until she was sure that Hunter was emotionally stable again.

As she tried to relax in his arms, Bobbi could hear a soft whisper coming from the mercenary, and even though she couldn't understand the words, she knew right away what he had said, and her breath caught in her throat for a moment. When her lips moved in reply, there was not a single sound escaping them, and as Hunter couldn't see her face, he didn't notice the tear running down the side of her cheek, either, as the agent's emotions overwhelmed her for a brief moment.

"_I love you, too."_

As he finally surrendered to his exhaustion, Hunter quickly fell asleep after this, as Bobbi could tell by the calm beating of his heart and the steady rise and fall of his chest as he was breathing evenly, and once she had turned off the lamp on the bedside table, it didn't take long for her to drift off to sleep as well, her ex's momentary peacefulness letting her hope that her presence here was already helping him, even though she knew of course that the pain over his father's death would not go away in one night. That was something Hunter would have to deal with for a long time to come, but as she closed her eyes and cuddled up against him even more closely, the agent silently promised both him and herself that as long as he would let her, she would be right next to him, every step of the way.

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><p>When Bobbi suddenly woke up with a start, she needed a moment to get her bearings and to remember why she wasn't alone in her own bed as usual, but as she realised what had woken her up, that it was Hunter, who was lying next to her, panting and jerking in his sleep, everything came back to her instantly.<p>

"Hunter!", the agent called out to him as she placed one hand on the mercenary's shoulder in an attempt to calm him, while she reached for the lamp with the other, blinking slightly in the sudden light filling the room.

Now that she could actually see him properly, Bobbi took a second to look at her ex, worry creasing her brow as she saw the agonised and almost panicked expression on his face. Hunter was obviously in the throes of a terrible nightmare, and as she knew all too well by her own experience how startling it could be to be pulled back to reality, she did her best to be as gentle as possible, as she leaned over the mercenary now, holding him down with one hand while she laid the other on his cheek, caressing his face.

"Hunter! Hunter wake up!", she ordered, more silently than before, but still firmly trying to reach him. Her words didn't seem to have any effect at first though, as the young man kept moving frantically under her hands, his lips moving slightly now as he was mumbling in his sleep.

"No! No, don't! Please, stay with me!" The words were extremely faint, but Bobbi could feel the urgency behind them and she swallowed hard as she was sure that Hunter was reliving his father's last moments again and how helpless he had been, unable to save him. But as her ex went on, a startled look appeared on her face, and his next words were not exactly what she had expected to hear.

"I'm here, just… just hold on! Stay with me, Bobbi!" For a second, the blond agent just stared down at Hunter, not knowing what to think of any of this, but then she realised that it didn't matter what he was dreaming about, just that he was obviously desperate and afraid and that she needed to get him to wake up as quickly as possible.

Cupping his face with both hands now, Bobbi leaned down to the mercenary, her voice soft but insistent as she spoke again.

"Hunter… Lance, I'm here, alright? I'm fine and I promise I'm not going anywhere." She ran one hand soothingly through his hair now and after another long moment, her ex-husband finally seemed to calm down, his breathing evening out again, and when his eyes opened slowly, Bobbi couldn't help but sigh deeply in relief.

"Bob?", he asked, obviously confused to find his ex-wife staring down at him like this, but even though he clearly didn't mean to show it, the agent didn't miss the worried expression which passed over his face briefly, as if he wasn't completely convinced that she was real and that she was actually alright.

"Hey!", Bobbi greeted him with a smile as she sat back, trying to hide just how worried she had been just moments ago. "Bad dream?", she asked carefully, a part of her wanting to know what his nightmare had been about, but reminding herself that she probably shouldn't pry.

"Yeah," the mercenary admitted with a small nod as he sat up and ran a hand over his face wearily. The look in his eyes was distant, even haunted, as his mind was obviously still caught up by the images he had seen in his dreams, but as Bobbi was already certain that he was not going to tell her about any of that, he suddenly surprised her, as he began to talk in a low voice, facing away from her.

"We were back at my dad's place and he and I were arguing – obviously – about Mum, HYDRA, I don't even really remember, and then he got shot, just like it really happened, but… after he collapsed, he suddenly started trembling like all those soldiers we saw on the tape, the ones HYDRA poisoned, and I knew he was in pain, but I couldn't do anything, I…" At this point Hunter broke off, taking a few deep breaths as the memories of both what he had seen in his nightmare and what had really happened were clearly taking their toll on him.

As she was feeling a sudden surge of compassion at his desolate appearance, Bobbi reached out and took Hunter's hand in hers, intertwining their fingers as she was trying to project as much support to him as possible with this small gesture. The mercenary turned his head slightly now, so he was looking directly at his ex-wife, a barely noticeable smile playing on his lips as he studied her for a moment.

"What?", she finally asked as Hunter kept looking at her, feeling suddenly extremely self-aware under his constant gaze.

"I just thought that I'll actually miss this once things go back to normal," he replied, effectively changing the topic away from his nightmare, but only prompting an utterly confused look from Bobbi.

"Miss what exactly? And what do you mean 'once things go back to normal'?", she asked in return, not really knowing what Hunter was getting at.

The mercenary sighed briefly before he answered his ex, his thumb stroking across the back of her hand absentmindedly.

"Well, _this_, us actually getting along for once," he began to explain, completely ignoring the increasingly upset look on Bobbi's face as he went on. "I know I'm in a bad place right now, so you're being nice to me, and believe me, I really appreciate that, but I'm not so naïve to actually think this is going to last. Once I get better, we'll be back to shouting at each other over every little detail, you're probably going to turn into a hell beast again while I'll take every opportunity to take jabs at you, and before you know it, we'll either kill each other, or Agent May and the others will do that for us, because they won't be able to stand all that fighting anymore, either."

It was obvious that Hunter hadn't meant to hurt Bobbi with his words, and that none of this was what he wanted, but that it was nevertheless how he expected their future to look like. The agent had averted her eyes from him and was looking down at the blanket covering both her and Hunter, not really knowing what to say, but as her eyes ultimately fell on their still intertwined hands, she could feel a new resolve running through her, and she tightened her grip as she looked up at her ex once more.

"But what if I don't want that? If I really like the way things between us are now, too?" Bobbi asked, saddened, even horrified by the mere idea that what Hunter had just described would really always be the inevitable outcome of their relationship. She was fighting the urge to move towards the mercenary, to close the small distance between them and to press her lips against his once more to emphasise her point, but in the end she stayed where she was, even though the look in her eyes was clearly reflecting her conflicting emotions.

"Hunter, when we talked in the gym a few days ago, and you told me about your parents, you said that telling me the truth might perhaps give us another chance, that we could start over, and I think I'd really like that," she finished, not allowing herself to put any more of her true feelings out there, as she honestly wasn't sure if she could handle it if Hunter told her now that he had changed his mind, that he didn't actually believe that there was hope for them yet.

But as the mercenary looked back at her now, fixating her with an intense gaze as if he was trying to determine the truthfulness of her words, Bobbi could tell that even though he was clearly still hesitant to make the next move, Hunter was definitely happy about her confession.

His right hand still locked with Bobbi's, he now raised his left one slowly and caressed the blond woman's cheek, causing her to lean into his touch instinctively.

"Yeah, me too," he finally replied, his voice husky with emotion as he leaned forward, capturing his ex-wife's lips with his own, as his hand moved towards the side of her neck, pulling her closer.

For a split second, Bobbi hesitated as she remembered her earlier conviction to keep this visit strictly platonic, considering Hunter's vulnerable state at the moment, but as pretty much every part of her being wanted this, wanted _him_, she quickly ignored the tiny voice in the back of her head and eagerly responded to the mercenary's kiss.

She had missed him so much, the sensation of his lips against hers, the feeling of his touch on her skin, and when Hunter pushed her down on the bed after a while, both of his hands roaming her body now, Bobbi didn't resist and instead pulled him with her so that he ended up lying on top of her.

Their kissing had become more passionate by now, their movements almost frantic and once they had gotten rid of any offending clothing, nothing was left to stop the two from being with each other as they hadn't been in ages. But even though the trace of desperation in Hunter's expression wasn't lost on Bobbi, she was so caught up in the moment and overwhelmed by her own feelings for him, that she paid no heed to it and had pretty much forgotten about it once it was gone again.

When they were done, both of them panting heavily, Hunter laid next to Bobbi again and this time it was him, who took a hold of her hand, intertwining their fingers once again, while he pushed a few strands of hair out of the blond woman's face with his free hand, eliciting a soft smile from her in response.

Either, because they were both still out of breath, or because they didn't really know what to say, they were completely quiet for a while as they just laid next to each other, their eyes and hands locked, but in the end it was Bobbi, who broke the almost reverent silence, a small grin on her lips as she propped herself up so that she was looking down at Hunter.

"Soo… was that part of the 'mutually-respectful-co-workers' deal, too?", she asked, her voice sounding perfectly innocent, as she pulled the blanket around herself absentmindedly, not used to exposing herself like this to her ex anymore.

"God, I hope not," Hunter actually laughed in return, caught so entirely off guard by Bobbi's quip, that he suddenly appeared to be in a good mood for the first time since all of this had begun, when Coulson had briefed them on HYDRA's attack yesterday. "Otherwise there's soon going to be a whole line of people outside my door that I'll have to disappoint," he explained, running his hand through Bobbi's hair in a loving gesture, before he pushed himself up a little, and, while pulling her down simultaneously, kissed her gently once again.

As their lips parted, they both remained in this position, not even an inch apart, but as Hunter's brown eyes were staring back at her, Bobbi couldn't help but feel the smallest trace of doubt creeping up on her, making her wonder if sleeping with her ex had been the right choice after all. She had been completely honest with him earlier, when she had told him that she wanted to give them another chance, that she wanted to start over, but now it suddenly seemed as if they were just taking the same road as before, the one that had always led to them constantly fighting, until breaking up had ended up being the least painful solution for their problems.

And Bobbi _really_ didn't want that.

"What are you thinking about?" Hunter suddenly asked, as he obviously knew Bobbi well enough to recognise when something was troubling her. He had moved back a little now, so he could get a better look at her, and when the agent took a moment to reply, he laid his hand on her cheek once again, his thumb stroking across her soft skin.

Bobbi laid her hand on top of his, unwilling to let him break the contact, and after she took a deep breath to encourage herself, she finally began to explain her concerns, hoping that Hunter wouldn't think that she was turning him down.

"I was just wondering if this has really been such a good timing. I don't regret what we just did, Hunter, but maybe we've just been taking things too fast, maybe that's always been our problem." She knew that her ex understood perfectly what she was talking about, but when he suddenly replied, Bobbi couldn't help but roll her eyes, as he chose to make light of the situation, as it often seemed to be his preferred method of dealing with things.

"Alright, maybe it was a little fast, but I haven't seen you naked in over a year – what did you expect?", the mercenary asked, only to continue with an absolutely sincere expression on his face. "But I promise I'll take things a little slower next time."

"That's not what I mean, dummie, and you know it," Bobbi replied with a slightly exasperated sigh, even though she couldn't quite hide the smirk on her lips as she hit Hunter's arm playfully. But as she quickly decided that two could play at this game, there was a teasing glint in her eyes as she continued in a completely serious tone. "But yeah, that'd be nice, too."

Her determination not to laugh at the fake hurt look Hunter was giving her now only lasted for about two seconds, before Bobbi leaned towards the mercenary once again and kissed him, still smiling brightly as she was well aware that while she often criticised his, what she liked to call 'childish' or 'irresponsible' behaviour, it was also one of his most endearing features and one of the main reasons why she had fallen in love with him in the first place.

"But I'm serious, Hunter," the agent ultimately continued as she broke the kiss, staying as close to the mercenary as before. "I know how you feel about me, and I really hope you know how I feel about you, too," she declared, placing one hand on his chest gently, "but this, _us_, it's always going too fast. We keep going around in circles, and it never ends well, and I'm _tired_ of that. So instead of rushing right into things again, we should just take one small step after the other and see where it goes. But as I'm pretty sure that we've passed the 'mutually-respectful-co-workers' stage somewhere in the last twenty-four hours, how about we just go with 'friends' for now?"

Hunter was looking deep into her eyes for a moment, taking his time to figure out what to say to this, and when he finally replied, his brow was slightly furrowed as if he couldn't quite bring himself to follow Bobbi's reasoning.

"And you really think that could work? You and me being friends?", he asked sceptically, causing Bobbi's lips to spread into an optimistic grin.

"Well, we've never actually tried it before, so why not just give it a shot? And you never know, maybe it will even keep me from turning into a hell beast again at all, so I'd say being friends doesn't actually sound so bad, does it?"

After taking another long look at the woman in front of him, a small smile playing on his lips at her using this less than favourable term for herself, Hunter finally nodded, prompting her grin to become even wider. But as he replied, his voice surprisingly matter-of-factly, Bobbi had to admit that she was a little concerned what his answer would be. At least at first.

"It's a bold concept, I guess, you and me trying to get along as friends, but alright, I'm willing to give it a chance, but only under _one_ condition," he declared, but then continued with a smirk, quickly dispelling Bobbi's worries again. "That we only start with that in the morning." And before she had the chance to reply anything, Hunter had already captured his ex-wife's lips in another hungry kiss, and was pushing her back down against the pillow. For a moment Bobbi was about to protest, to point out that this was not exactly a good way to begin their new 'friendship', but then she found that she had to agree with the mercenary and that there would be no point really in pushing him away now, not when she was already lying naked in his bed. But from tomorrow on, things would be different between them, better, or at least that was what she was hoping as she gave in to Hunter's touch once again.

**To be continued…**


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